Heart & Vascular Institute

Early Cardiac Care Giver

Heart Attack Warning Signs that could save your life.

You may be having a heart attack if you experience these symptoms:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes.
• Pain spreading to the shoulders, back, arms, neck or jaw.
• Chest discomfort with dizziness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Unusual indigestion.

If you experience any of these warning signs and they last longer than two minutes:

• Call the emergency rescue service (911), or
• Go to the nearest hospital emergency room. Mercy Health Partners' Emergency Department is located at U.S. 31 and Sherman Blvd. in Muskegon, Michigan.

Your role as an Early Cardiac Care Giver

It is easy to deny the seriousness of the early warning signs of a heart attack. Delay could lead to permanent heart damage or death. Proper training as an Early Cardiac Care Giver can save lives.

Participants in the Early Cardiac Care Giver program learn:

• How to recognize early warning signs of a heart attack.
• How to respond appropriately to these signs.
• Strategies to get someone to the emergency department if they are denying their warning signs.

Learn About Early Cardiac Care...

The Mercy Health Partners system offers its Early Cardiac Care Giver training in a variety of settings. Trained instructors offer the program throughout the community at convenient locations.

Some of the training locations include:

• service community organizations
• schools
• churches, synagogues, and other religious organizations
• business wellness clinics
• healthcare organizations and cardiac rehabilitation programs
• sporting and recreational events
• retirement community centers

For more information about the Mercy Health Partners' Early Cardiac Care Giver program call (231) 672-3864.

The Benefits of Early Cardiac Care

Each year approximately 600,000 Americans die from heart attacks, making heart attacks the number one killer in our nation. The death rate from cardiovascular diseases in Muskegon is significantly greater than the national average.

Many of these deaths could be prevented. According to the American Heart Association, about 60% of the heart attack deaths occur before the victim reaches a hospital. Treatments are most effective if people receive them during the first few hours of a heart attack.

Early recognition of heart attack warning signs, followed by early action to seek treatment, will help reduce the number of preventable heart attack deaths.

Mercy Health Partners provides the Early Cardiac Care Giver program to help people recognize the early warning signs of a heart attack and respond more quickly. Those trained in this program can identify signs in themselves and others, friends, loved ones or co-workers. They also learn how to help others seek prompt medical attention.

Mercy Health Partners has developed a complete chest pain service to provide a full-service approach to cardiac care in the emergency room, Through diagnostic testing, treatment and patient education, heart attack victims can receive the highest quality care.

Return to the Heart & Vascular Institute

Heart & Vascular Institute • P.O. Box 358 • Muskegon, MI 49443 • (231) 672-3935