The Learning Curve Home of FiddleStix Quilting

Significant Information Regarding Heart Health For Women

1.   Understanding Blood Pressure Readings
2.   Four Ways to Deal with Stress
3.  Warning Signs of Heart Failure
4.   Jump Rope for Heart Event
5. 
   

     CPR
   
   This information was taken directly from the American Heart Associations Web Site.  I felt it was too important to just paste a link in here.  This information could save your life or the life of another.  Please study, print and post on your refrigerator, share with other women, share with your daughter!  

   
   

   You all are my friends, pals and buds!  I care enough about you to post this information and I have hopes you are taking this seriously as it is very serious.  In all my career of nursing, I saw so many women diagnosed with anything and everything but heart disease.  I had my turn at being misdiagnosed 11 years ago when I had every symptom that could be displayed but was sent home over a long holiday weekend with a huge dose of a diuretic (water pill) to reduce the fluid that had caused my lower legs, ankles, feet and toes to swell 3 times the normal size.  My EKG was ???GOOD??? and oh yes even although my blood pressure was 224/186, I was told not to worry because  "you are now on blood pressure medicine".   Over that long weekend, I lost 14 pounds of fluid from my body, gained it back within 8 hours and lost it again the 3rd day only to wake up the 4th day with everything swollen and being so short of breath I couldn't even dress myself.  Thank God for my smart Steve and a fabulous friend who is a well known cardiologist who had cared for my father for over 30 years and Steve for 10 years.  He had no problem coming in Christmas Day to the ER to check me out personally, schedule and emergency heart cath and pump Lasix into me IV as fast as they could. I was extremely dehydrated from the "3rd spacing" of fluids in my body so it was a tough few days trying to hydrate me but also to keep my from absorbing and retaining any of the liquids into my interstitial tissues.  After a good cardiac check-out and the lose of 32 pounds of fluids that didn't belong in my body, my cardiologist was able to stabilize me and find out the culprit that was causing all these alien symptoms.  But that is another story. This story is being told to you to never, ever dismiss anything that is unusual with your health, especially your heart.  We cannot live without one and we have to have one to love so many people.
   
   
   
   
   

   
   

   HEART ATTACK WARNING SIGNS

   
   

   CHEST DISCOMFORT

   Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
   
   
   DISCOMFORT IN OTHER AREAS OF THE UPPER BODY 
   SHORTNESS OF BREATH

   OTHER SIGNS

    

   
   

   STROKE WARNING SIGNS

   If one or more of these signs is present, don't delay:

   - SUDDEN NUMBNESS OR WEAKNESS OF THE FACE, ARM OR LEG, ESPECIALLY ON ONE SIDE OF THE BODY
   
   - SUDDEN CONFUSION, TROUBLE SPEAKING OR UNDERSTANDING
   
   - SUDDEN TROUBLE SEEING IN ONE OR BOTH EYES
   
   - SUDDEN TROUBLE WALKING, DIZZINESS, LOSS OF BALANCE OR COORDINATION
   
   - SUDDEN SEVERE HEADACHE WITH NO KNOWN CAUSE

   
   

   CARDIAC ARREST WARNING SIGNS
   

   SUDDEN LOSS OF RESPONSIVENESS

   No response to tapping on shoulders.

   NO NORMAL BREATHING

   
   

   Learn more about heart attack.

   Learn more about cardiac arrest.

   Learn more about stroke.

   
   
   
   
   

   Dial 9-1-1 Fast Heart attack and stroke are life-and-death emergencies — every second counts. If you see or have any of the listed symptoms, immediately call 9-1-1 or your emergency response number. Not all these signs occur in every heart attack or stroke. Sometimes they go away and return. If some occur, get help fast! Today heart attack and stroke victims can benefit from new medications and treatments unavailable to patients in years past. For example, clot-busting drugs can stop some heart attacks and strokes in progress, reducing disability and saving lives. But to be effective, these drugs must be given relatively quickly after heart attack or stroke symptoms first appear. So again, don't delay — get help right away!

   
   
   

   
   

   More about heart attack

   Some heart attacks are sudden and intense — the "movie heart attack," where no one doubts what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Immediately call 9-1-1 or your emergency response number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can be sent for you. As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. Learn the signs, but remember this: Even if you're not sure it's a heart attack, have it checked out (tell a doctor about your symptoms). Minutes matter! Fast action can save lives — maybe your own. Don’t wait more than five minutes to call 9-1-1 or your emergency response number. Calling 9-1-1 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. EMS staff are also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance usually receive faster treatment at the hospital, too. It is best to call EMS for rapid transport to the emergency room. For more information, visit our heart attack website.

   
   

   
   

   More about stroke

   Immediately call 9-1-1 or your emergency response number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can be sent for you. Also, check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It's very important to take immediate action. If given within 3 hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke. tPA is the only FDA-approved medication for the treatment of stroke within three hours of stroke symptom onset. A TIA, or transient ischemic attack, is a "warning stroke" or "mini-stroke" that produces stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. Recognizing and treating TIAs may reduce your risk of a major stroke. The usual TIA symptoms are the same as those of stroke, only temporary. The short duration of these symptoms and lack of permanent brain injury is the main difference between TIA and stroke. For more information, visit our stroke website.

   
   

   
   

   More about cardiac arrest

   If these signs of cardiac arrest are present, tell someone to call 9-1-1 or your emergency response number and get an AED (if one is available) and you begin CPR immediately. If you are alone with an adult who has these signs of cardiac arrest, call 9-1-1 and get an AED (if one is available) before you begin CPR. Use an AED as soon as it arrives. For more information, visit our cardiac arrest website.

   
   

   Hands-Only CPR
   Hands-Only CPR can be as effective as CPR with breaths. Watch the demo video and learn how to save a life in 60 seconds.