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8 things to do right after a heart attack

man holding chest, heart attack, living room
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 735,000 Americans have a heart attack every year. That’s one every 43 seconds or so. But not every event is fatal. Your chance of survival goes up—and complications go down—if you get to a hospital as soon as possible.

But don’t just sit and wait after you’ve called 911. There are steps you can take in theShow More

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Recognize the signs

How do you know you’re having a heart attack? You might not unless you can identify the signs—including the less-common ones. “Not everyone has the classic presentation of angina, or chest pain,” says Dr. Hillegas. “Both men and women get atypical symptoms.”

Chest pain, shortness of breath and painShow More

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Call the professionals

Call 911 as soon as you think you’re having a heart attack. Cardiologists have a saying: time is muscle. “Once the blood supply and oxygen are cut off for any muscle, including the heart, tissue starts to die,” says Hillegas. “The sooner blood flow can be restored, the more likely it is to preserveShow More

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Stay calm

We know: easier said than done. But when you’re stressed and panicking, you enter “fight-or-flight” mode, also known as the stress response. Your body floods with neurochemicals like adrenaline, blood pressure increases and your heart starts beating faster. “The more excited you get, the moreShow More

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Take an aspirin

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology recommend popping an aspirin for heart attacks as soon as possible. “There’s little downside to taking an aspirin,” adds Hillegas. To understand why, you should know how a heart attack happens.

Most heart attacks start when aShow More

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Gather some info

The information you give to ER and ambulance staffs could be critical to your treatment. You’ll want to describe what happened, what you were doing when the pain started and anything that made the pain better or worse, says Hillegas. Healthcare providers will also want to know your heart healthShow More

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Understand your treatment

So you survived the initial heart attack, arrived at the hospital and have been treated by medical professionals. Now it’s time to recover, which could take days or months, according to Hillegas. You shouldn’t be a passive participant here. Start educating yourself about heart attack treatments andShow More

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Get back on your feet

After a heart attack you may be placed in a cardiac rehabilitation program. “Administrators of a cardiac rehab program can tailor an exercise schedule for you with goals that are reasonable to reach,” says Hillegas. “They monitor you to make sure you’re not going to overdo it, but you’re workingShow More

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Drop bad habits

This one’s a no-brainer: if you’re a smoker, quit right away. Smoking damages blood vessel walls, putting you at increased risk for plaque ruptures and clots. Nicotine also raises your blood pressure. A year after quitting smoking, your risk of dying from coronary heart disease is cut in half.

You’Show More

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