An emergency condition, unfortunately, cannot always be identified. Probably each of us has at one time or another encountered similar situation: a man lies on the ground, and a crowd passes by him indifferently. A rare passer-by calls an ambulance, and the rest label the person who is lying down as having too much alcohol.

However, such a “dream” may actually be a loss of consciousness due to an unexpected emergency, and in front of you lies a person who is on the verge of life and death who requires immediate medical attention.

Unfortunately, very often such terrible attacks catch people in the most “inappropriate” places, and it is extremely important that each person is not indifferent to the other and is able to detect in time this state and provide the necessary first aid.

Emergency conditions are a set of symptoms in a person that require immediate emergency medical care and, often, hospitalization. This process can momentarily cause deterioration in health. The greatest danger of an emergency condition is that without timely assistance, death often occurs.

Conditionally emergency conditions are divided into:

• External - they are caused by any environmental influences;
• Internal – caused by pathologies occurring inside the body.

This classification is relative because large number pathological processes may be the result external influence, and their rapid development(which happens very often) is caused by external factors.

Emergency medical care

In case of an emergency, it is extremely important to quickly provide emergency medical care - a set of manipulations necessary to carry out in case of sudden illnesses that have a risk of death.

Emergency and emergency medical care differences

It should be noted that despite the similar names, these types of assistance are different.

Emergency medical care required for such diseases or conditions when the patient’s life is in serious danger. All medical institutions are required to provide it as a matter of urgency.

Emergency medical care, in turn, is also required in dangerous situations of the patient, but in those that do not pose a direct threat to human life. It belongs to the primary health care and ends up in hospitals.

What conditions are considered emergencies?

In medicine, there are a huge number of severe cases that require immediate intervention, states. The most famous and frequently encountered are:

• myocardial infarction;
• ischemic stroke;
• blood loss;
• poisoning with toxic substances;
• epilepsy;
• injuries;
• peritonitis.

Despite various manifestations of these diseases, they have the same mechanism of action on human body. Emergency conditions trigger a response defensive reaction body, which leads to a rapid disruption of its functionality.

Attention. One of immune mechanisms is vasoconstriction. It stops blood circulation in almost all internal organs(except for the heart, brain and lungs), which leads to disruption of tissue function and accelerates the approach of death.

In a situation where acute pathological process occurs in the brain, due to lack of oxygen, the death of neurons responsible for the functions of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, which seriously threatens the patient’s life.

Talking about heart attack and methods of dealing with it, you need to understand what it is pathological condition, conditioned acute deficiency blood supply to the heart muscle.

Therefore, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, heart failure - all of this can be classified as heart attacks.

An ordinary person (not a doctor) will not be able to distinguish one condition from another based on symptoms, but first aid for a heart attack at home for all these diagnoses will be identical.

How to detect a heart attack at home?

1. Pain in the sternum. It is most often pressing, less often burning. The pain may radiate to left side: in the shoulder, shoulder girdle, neck and sometimes even in the lower jaw on the left.
2. Dyspnea– frequent shallow breathing.
3. Pale skin cold sweat .

If at least one of the three symptoms is observed, the person’s task is to call ambulance.

Knowing how to recognize a heart attack can possibly save a person's life. A heart attack is a serious matter, here time is of the essence human life goes for seconds.

Many people wonder: “How does a heart attack start?”. It usually occurs unexpectedly, which is why many people get confused and don’t know what to do.

In addition to the three main symptoms, weakness, nausea or vomiting, arrhythmia, and dizziness appear against the background of a heart attack.

like this unpleasant problem Many people confuse a panic attack (a malfunction of the nervous system) with a heart attack.

The symptoms of a panic attack are really similar to a heart attack - lack of air, anxiety, feeling as if your heart is going to jump out of your chest. How not to confuse these problems and begin timely treatment of existing heart pathology?

During a heart attack, pain in the area chest can radiate to the arm, back, neck. It can be long-lasting (from 10 minutes to several hours and even days). The intensity of the pain can change - sometimes it subsides, sometimes it becomes active again.

During a panic attack, chest pain usually goes away within 10–15 minutes. At the same time, the person experiences strong fear, for example, because he might die or go crazy.

But a panic attack is not a disease at all, it is a mental attack that indicates that nervous system I'm very tired. Panic attacks occur in people aged 20–50 years as a result of stress or phobias.

If you don’t know exactly what happened to you: a heart attack or a panic attack, then immediately call an ambulance. A regular electrocardiogram will definitely show the presence of heart problems.

If none are found, then the cause of chest pain lies in nervous disorders. In this case, you will have to treat panic attacks with the help of antidepressants.

There are often times in life when a person has a heart attack, and there are no relatives, friends or just strangers nearby who could at least call an ambulance.

In this case, many patients are lost; during an attack, they wait for the continuation. But at this time they themselves can help themselves, save their lives.

How to relieve a heart attack at home if no one is around?

First, you need to pull yourself together and remember that you only have 5 (!) minutes left to do something, then you may simply faint and not regain consciousness.

Therefore, you need to act quickly:

Step 1: Start coughing

The patient must cough: draw air into your lungs as much as possible and start actively coughing every 1-2 seconds.

In this case, the blood begins to be actively saturated with oxygen, and by squeezing the chest, you will thereby help the heart pump blood better.

Step 2. Call an ambulance

State your address, phone number, intercom code, problem you are addressing.

Must open front door so that medical personnel can freely enter the apartment.

When calling an ambulance, you should not forget about such a technique as coughing. You need to cough constantly, without stopping until the ambulance arrives..

Step 3. Rub peroxide into the heart area

Pour a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution onto your palm and rub the preparation into the heart area.. The pain should subside a little.

If you suspect that a relative or friend has this problem, you need to help him immediately. What to do in case of a heart attack, what actions stranger will help save the patient's life:

If after all of the above actions the patient feels a little better, his breathing is restored, acute attack pain and you are waiting for the team emergency assistance, then during this time it is advisable for the person helping the victim to prepare:

• medications that the person took the day before - put them in a visible place so that the emergency doctor can see what the patient drank;
• a list of drugs to which a person has an allergic reaction;
• find his medical card, any medical documents– certificates, extracts, results of previous cardiograms, as well as a passport.

What is absolutely forbidden to do?

A person having a heart attack should not:

• perform any physical activity - walking, standing, etc.;
• eat food, drink coffee;
• smoke;
• give any pills or drugs if the person is unconscious.

Not only will you know how to help someone who is having a heart attack, but it is important to act now. And for this it is necessary even before the moment possible start problems do the following:

Knowledge of the rules for providing emergency care at home to a person having a heart attack increases the chances of a positive outcome.

But if a person is confused and does not know what actions to take, this can lead to the death of a sick relative, friend, co-worker, etc.

A mandatory step in case of a heart attack is to call an ambulance team, which will help relieve the attack, perform the necessary resuscitation and therapeutic measures to save the patient's life.

In the event of a heart attack, proper first aid can save a person's life. Mortality statistics around the world are known for their disappointing results.

A significant percentage of total number falls specifically on diseases that are associated with the cardiovascular system.

Every day, several thousand people die who did not have time to receive timely, correct, high-quality and, in addition, qualified assistance.

A significant percentage of the population suffers from cardiovascular diseases. Those who know this for sure always have at hand necessary medications and know what to do with them.

There is also a category of people who are not at all aware of their heart problems. The pain overtakes them by surprise; they do not know what and how to do and what measures to take. As a result, in many cases everything ends in failure.

Statistics show that a significant percentage of mortality is caused by the fact that people do not immediately turn to specialists, do not pay attention to symptoms, are patient, and do not rush to call an ambulance.

If you have a heart attack, you must act immediately. This will save lives.

Determine the nature of the disease and establish accurate diagnosis It's not always easy. After all, the symptoms are often similar in several diseases or do not manifest themselves immediately. This can be done effectively by qualified specialists.

But heart diseases still have their own distinctive features.

You should pay attention if you experience the following symptoms:

1) Presence of shortness of breath. It can occur not only after heavy or light physical exertion, but also in a calm state.

2) Increased sweating. This sign is more typical for people of the stronger sex than for women. But the latter may also have it.

3) High frequency heartbeat. For heart diseases main body The human life support system begins to work intensively. Because more loads are placed on it.

4) Painful sensations in the chest area. Initially, these pains may be slightly noticeable, but soon their strength increases.

In addition, they are accompanied by a burning effect, tingling and a feeling of heaviness, as if something is squeezing the chest. Pain can manifest itself not only in the sternum area, but also in the back, arm, leg, and abdomen.

The peculiarity is that the localization site is always located on the left side of the body.

5) In case of a heart attack a person may lose orientation in space. This is accompanied by dizziness in the head and a significant deterioration in balance.

6) A heart attack may be accompanied by sharp pains in the stomach, nausea, occasional vomiting, heartburn.

7) More like harbingers rather than symptoms are weakness and fatigue. The person becomes lethargic and unable to work.

8) Insomnia, Bad mood, anxiety, snoring during sleep - these are all also harbingers of heart disease. Monitor how your nervous system functions. It is directly related to cardiovascular health.

9) Imminent heart problems also promise heaviness in the legs. They become soft and it is difficult for a person to move.

Of course, all the signs cannot suddenly appear in a person at once. You should always take care of your body and body. They warn of problems and give signals.

To one degree or another, at least some, but there are always harbingers of the disease. An attack cannot come out of nowhere.

In case of a heart attack, if such a disaster has happened, you need to act quickly and correctly. It is worth adhering to a certain algorithm that will allow you to provide quality help. Here is a list of primary actions:

1. The victim must be seated or reclined. Remember: you cannot place it horizontally. The vertical position will reduce the load on the heart muscle and relieve pain in the sternum.

2. It is necessary to free the person from excess clothing: remove the tie, unfasten the buttons and belt.

3. Maximize the flow of fresh air - open windows and doors.

4. Ask the patient to breathe deeply but gently.

5. Call an ambulance. If the situation is critical, then medical workers should be called in the first seconds.

6. Give it your all necessary efforts to calm the patient. Nervous condition will only make the situation worse.

7. Give the patient an aspirin tablet. This will reduce the risk of blood clots. The tablet must be chewed. If the patient is unable to do this, then give him the already crushed pill.

8. The victim should also be given a nitroglycerin tablet.. This drug will help eliminate pain and stabbing sensations. If the first dose does not help, you can take it again.

IMPORTANT: medications - aspirin and nitroglycerin - can be given only when you are absolutely sure that the victim is not allergic to them. Also, nitroglycerin should not be given at low blood pressure, because it lowers it even more.

9. After taking the pills, weakness may appear, then you should elevate lower limbs patient so that they are located higher from the level of the head. This will increase and speed up blood flow. You can also give him a little water to drink.

10.Monitor the victim's pulse. If it is poorly felt or the person loses consciousness altogether, then do light massage hearts. In critical cases - artificial respiration.

In addition to providing first aid, you need to know those measures that absolutely cannot be taken during a heart attack.

The patient cannot move - walk, run, or go to the hospital himself.

Be sure to be calm before arrival medical workers. The medical team will provide qualified assistance and take you to the hospital.

Remember that a heart attack can occur in a completely healthy person.

Excessive smoking, alcohol consumption, poor quality lifestyle, regular consumption fatty foods, nervous breakdowns, excess weight - all these components can cause a heart attack.

People who know about the problems of their body always have aspirin and nitroglycerin on hand. In cases of an attack, they help immediately.

If you do not belong to the category of core patients, then you should not neglect these rules. They will not be superfluous for you either. After all, anyone can fall into the risk category.

Characteristic signs (symptoms) of a heart attack (myocardial infarction):

• Sudden (paroxysmal) pressing, squeezing, burning, aching pain in the chest (behind the sternum) lasting more than 5 minutes;
• Similar pains are often observed in the area of ​​the left shoulder (forearm), left shoulder blade, left half of the neck and lower jaw, both shoulders, both arms, the lower part of the sternum along with top part belly;
• Lack of air, shortness of breath, severe weakness, cold sweat, nausea often occur together, sometimes following or preceding discomfort/pain in the chest;
• It is not uncommon for these manifestations of the disease to develop against the background of physical or psycho-emotional stress, but more often with some interval after them.

Not characteristic features which are often confused with a heart attack:

• Stitching, cutting, pulsating, boring, constant aching pain for many hours and not changing its intensity in the heart area or in a specific clearly defined area of ​​the chest.

Algorithm of urgent actions:

If you or someone else suddenly has the above characteristic signs of a heart attack, even at mild or moderate intensity, and lasting more than 5 minutes. – don’t hesitate, call an ambulance immediately. Do not wait more than 10 minutes - in such a situation it is life-threatening.

If you have symptoms of a heart attack and there is no way to call an ambulance, then ask someone to take you to the hospital - this is the only right decision. Never drive yourself unless complete absence another choice.

In the most optimal option if a heart attack occurs, you must follow the instructions received from your doctor; if there are no such instructions, then you must follow the following algorithm:

• Call an ambulance;
• Sit (preferably in a chair with armrests) or lie in bed with the head of the bed raised, take 0.25 g of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) (chew the tablet, swallow) and 0.5 mg of Nitroglycerin (put the tablet/capsule under the tongue, first bite the capsule, do not swallow); free your neck and provide fresh air (open the vents or windows);
• If after 5-7 minutes. After taking acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and nitroglycerin, pain persists, you need to take nitroglycerin a second time.
• If after 10 min. after taking the second dose of nitroglycerin, the pain persists, it is necessary to take nitroglycerin a third time;
• If after the first or subsequent doses of nitroglycerin there is severe weakness, sweating, shortness of breath, you need to lie down, raise your legs (on a bolster, etc.), drink 1 glass of water and then, as with a severe headache, do not take nitroglycerin;
• If the patient has previously taken medications that lower cholesterol levels in the blood from the statin group (simvastatin, lovastatin, fluvastatin, pravastatin, atorvastatin, rosuvastatin), give the patient it usual dose and take the drug with you to the hospital.

ATTENTION! A patient with a heart attack is strictly prohibited from standing up, walking, smoking or eating until specifically authorized by a doctor.

Do not take aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) if intolerance to it ( allergic reactions), as well as with obvious exacerbation peptic ulcer stomach and duodenum.

Nitroglycerin should not be taken if severe weakness, sweating, as well as severe headache, dizziness, acute disorder vision, speech or motor coordination.

REMEMBER!

• That only caused in the first 10 minutes. from the onset of a heart attack, emergency medical care allows full use of modern highly effective methods inpatient treatment and reduce mortality from these diseases many times;
• What is aspirin ( acetylsalicylic acid) and nitroglycerin taken in the first minutes can prevent the development of myocardial infarction and significantly reduce the risk of death from it;
• What's the condition alcohol intoxication is not a reasonable basis for delaying calling an ambulance in the event of a heart attack - about 30% of people who died suddenly at home were intoxicated;
• What indoor massage cardiac examination, carried out in the first 60-120 seconds after sudden cardiac arrest, allows up to 50% of patients to be brought back to life.

A heart attack is a severe, acute pathological condition that occurs as a result of insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle - the myocardium - with the development of ischemia (decreased blood supply) and necrosis (death) of a section of this muscle. A heart attack without first aid can be fatal.

Myocardial infarction develops as a result of blockage of the lumen of the vessel (coronary artery) that supplies blood to the myocardium.

Causes of blockage of the lumen of the coronary artery

1. Thrombosis coronary arteries(for example, with coagulopathy - a blood clotting disorder);
2. Atherosclerotic plaques(consist of cholesterol and other fat compounds; deposited on the walls of arteries) – common, in 93-98% of cases;
3. Spasm of the coronary arteries.

Risk factors

• Old age;
• Increased level cholesterol in the blood;
• Genetic predisposition;
• Arterial hypertension;
• Diabetes mellitus;
• Lipid disorder carbohydrate metabolism;
• Obesity;
• Smoking;
• Alcoholism;
• Insufficient physical activity;
• Nervous overstrain and overwork;

Learning to recognize myocardial infarction (MI) ❗

Acute heart failure is characterized by squeezing, tearing pain in the depths of the chest, radiating to the upper limbs, neck, involving the lower jaw, between the shoulder blades, and less often to the solar plexus; can even radiate to the back of the head. The pain is accompanied by weakness, sweating (cold and sticky sweat), nausea, and dizziness.

Pain is not always present! In approximately 15-20% of patients acute heart attack myocardium passes painlessly. More often, silent MI is observed in patients diabetes mellitus, as well as in persons old age. In elderly patients, MI is expressed by sudden shortness of breath, which can develop into pulmonary edema. In other cases, MI, both painful and non-painful, is characterized sudden loss consciousness, a feeling of severe weakness, the occurrence of arrhythmia, or simply an inexplicable sharp decrease in blood pressure.

Causes of chest pain

The source of pain in the chest can be all its organs. It is important to correctly identify a heart attack. But what if the symptoms are subtle? Below is a table that highlights the most common reasons pain in the chest area.

What not to do during a heart attack

1. Fulfill physical activity: stand up abruptly, move around, go independently medical institution. Because unnecessary movements increase the load on the heart!
2. Use strong drinks: tea, coffee; smoke before medical personnel arrive
3. Accept medicinal product– nitroglycerin – at low blood pressure (below 90/60 mm Hg), since it causes sharp decline blood pressure, up to fainting

First aid

It is important to remember that from timely delivery first aid The life and further recovery of the patient depend.

Algorithm of actions

1. If an MI is suspected: the patient, if conscious, must be seated and reassured. Best Positions: sitting, leaning on the back of a chair or armchair, reclining with knees bent. Provide access to fresh air; loosen tight, constricting clothing (bra for women, tie for men);
2. Call an ambulance;
3. If you have Aspirin or Nitroglycerin and the patient is not allergic to the drugs: Chew Aspirin (this speeds up the action of Aspirin) and swallow OR Put Nitroglycerin under the tongue (do not chew, do not swallow);
4. In case of cardiac arrest (loss of consciousness, agonal breathing - shallow, frequent, with wheezing, lack of breathing), immediately begin CPR ( cardiopulmonary resuscitation): Place your hands in the center of your chest and start doing indirect massage heart followed by artificial respiration.

For reference

• Arrived medical personnel must be reported measures taken. For example, if a patient has been given a dose of Aspirin, then an additional dose is not required.
• If, after taking aspirin or nitroglycerin, the pain has disappeared, the condition has improved, it is still necessary to call a local physician at home. This cannot be ignored.

What needs to be done before the doctor arrives

1. Provide first aid to the patient, following the algorithm described above.
2. Prepare a list of medications or their packaging that the patient took the day before.
3. Names of drugs, substances to which the patient is allergic or intolerant.
4. Prepare medical documents (certificates, extracts), examination reports (for example, ultrasound of the heart, daily monitoring ECG) in chronological order.
5. For subsequent hospitalization of the patient, you should collect a package with necessary things: documents (passport, policy, SNILS), hygiene supplies ( toothbrush, toothpaste, washable slippers, soap), a change of clothes.

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