Every second counts in the life and death emergency of heart attack or stroke.
\nHeart attack is one of the primary causes of cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association says the body will likely send one or more of these warning signals of a heart attack: uncomfortable pressure; fullness; squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes; pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms; chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath. Other less common warning signs of heart attack are difficulty breathing, dizziness, palpitations and cold sweat or paleness.
\nThe American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, states the warning signs of stroke are: sudden numbness or weakness of face, arms or legs, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion; trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; difficulty in walking; dizziness; loss of balance and coordination and sudden severe headaches with no known cause.
\nAs part of American Heart Month, the AHA is promoting awareness of what to do in case of a cardiac or stroke emergency.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s important to know the chain of survival for both cardiac arrest and stroke,\u201d said Anthea L. Germano, communications chairwoman for the AHA, Blair County Division. \u201cThe first thing to do is to engage the emergency medical services system by calling 9-1-1. Calling 9-1-1 enables appropriate personnel to respond to the scene. In the case of cardiac arrest, CPR should be started immediately following the call for emergency services. If an automatic external defribilator is available, it should be utilized without delay.\u201d
\nAccording to Germano, about 80 percent of all cardiac emergencies happen at home. Without the chain of survival, approximately 95 percent of Americans who suffer sudden cardiac arrest will die before reaching the hospital.
\nCardiologist Joseph Gattuso, medical advisor for the Association\u2019s Blair County Division, is keenly aware that in Blair County, about 43 percent of all deaths are the result of cardiovascular diseases.
\n\u201cMuch of what the American Heart Association does centers on educating the general public in what the risk factors are for cardiovascular diseases and how to reduce or eliminate them through lifestyle modification,\u201d said Gattuso.
\n\u201cThere are two types of risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Those we can control and those we cannot control,\u201d he continued. \u201cExamples of risk factors we can\u2019t control are age, gender and heredity. The older we are, the more at risk we become. If there is a family history of heart disease or stroke, our risk increases. At present, heart disease is still more prevalent in men than in women, but the gap seems to be narrowing.
\n\u201cRisk factors we can control are diet, exercise and lifestyle,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you smoke, eat a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet and don\u2019t exercise, you\u2019re at a prime risk for cardiovascular diseases. Obesity and diabetes often go hand-in-hand in contributing to the devastation of heart disease and stroke.\u201d
\nGattuso also noted that Blair County is a pocket of high-level coronary artery disease and diabetes.
\nHeart disease and stroke are by no means exclusive to adults. According to the AHA, at least eight of every 1,000 infants born each year have a heart defect. Strokes can occur in the elderly.
\n\u201cHeart disease and stroke know no boundaries,\u201d said Germano. \u201cThey attack men, women and children with equal ferocity.\u201d
\nIn an effort to combat heart disease and stroke, the AHA puts forth an aggressive effort to fund and to promote cardiovascular disease and stroke research and education. Over the years, money raised from AHA fundraisers have been instrumental in the development of such procedures as coronary artery bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty and the placement of stents to expand narrowed coronary arteries.
\nCPR, the automatic defibrillator and clot-busting drugs for treatment of stroke are also among the many medical and technical advancements made possible by AHA initiatives.
\nOn the local level, the Association\u2019s Blair County Division sponsors a speaker\u2019s bureau consisting of \u201cheart smart\u201d volunteers to educate the community about cardiovascular diseases and the function of the AHA. Other local AHA volunteers conduct free blood pressure screenings and stroke risk assessments throughout the county.
\nIn Blair County schools, a program called Heart Power educates students from kindergarten through eighth grade in all aspects of cardiovascular diseases at each grade level. Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Hearts are educational fundraisers that engage the students in community service while helping to fund critical research and education in the field of heart disease and stroke.
\n\u201cHeart disease is still the number one killer and stroke the number three killer in America,\u201d cautioned Anthea L. Germano. \u201cEvery day medical researchers and scientists are closing in on these diseases.
\n\u201cMore and more, the mission of the American Heart Association is being realized: \u2018To reduce disability and death from heart disease and stroke\u2019.\u201d
\nFor more information about AHA programs and volunteer services, call the Blair County Division office at 949-3160.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every second counts in the life and death emergency of heart attack or stroke. Heart attack is one of the primary causes of cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association says the body will likely send one or more of these warning signals of a heart attack: uncomfortable pressure; fullness; squeezing or pain in the center […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}