How to detect cardiac arrest and stroke

Too often, people think that the only sign of heart attack is pain, but that's not the case at all. If you don't recognize the signs, you may put your own or your loved ones' lives at risk. The same is true of strokes; swift treatment will save a life, and prevent long-term disability.

• The underlying causes of most strokes and heart attacks are similar, and the ensuing damage usually results from an interruption of the blood supply to a vital organ.
• When the blood supply is cut off, cells starved of oxygen and vital nutrients start to die.
• If this occurs in the heart, the muscle cells supplied by the blocked artery can no longer function.
• If the blood supply is not restored quickly, parts of the muscle may die, leaving the heart permanently weakened.
• Sometimes, the heart's rhythm becomes irregular, or it may even stop — which, unless someone can get it pumping again, is fatal.
• Similarly, if cells in your brain are deprived of their blood supply, they too become damaged. Your brain may no longer be able to issue instructions to other parts of your body.
• Whatever function is controlled by those damaged brain cells — movement or speech, for example — is suddenly impaired.
• If blood flow is not rapidly restored, and brain cells in one area start to die off, the damage may be permanent.

• Why do so many people who have heart attacks fail to realize what they're experiencing? Firstly, symptoms can be confusing.
• A patient may say, "I just didn't feel sick." Others cannot believe that a heart attack could happen to them, particularly if they're fit and active.
• As many as one in three heart attack patients dies before reaching the hospital — yet these are often lives that might have been saved if the patients, or those around them, had recognized the signs. Immediate action greatly increases your chances of survival.

• If someone appears to have had a stroke, rapid hospital admission is important so that doctors can run tests to find out how serious the damage is and what caused it.
• They can then select the right emergency treatment in order to prevent permanent disability.
• Sometimes stroke symptoms occur temporarily, disappearing after a few minutes or hours.
• This is called a TIA (transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke), and also requires urgent medical attention.
• A TIA, which is caused by a temporary reduction in the blood supply to part of the brain, is an important warning; without treatment, it is estimated that one in four people who've had a TIA could suffer a full-blown stroke within a month.
• Anyone who has experienced a TIA and is deemed to be at high risk of having a full stroke should see a specialist within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms to find out the best course of action.

• If you live alone and believe you may be at risk of a heart attack or stroke, consider getting a medical alert system that can be worn around your neck or wrist.
• These systems communicate with emergency operators who can summon help to your home within minutes.