‘Nearly one third of people with heart attack like symptoms wait over 12 hours to call for help’
Health Minister launches Heart Attack Awareness Bus Ads Campaign to help save lives
Nearly one third (30%) of people suffering heart attack like symptoms waited 12 or more hours before calling for help. These audit results covering the North Down and Ards area mark the Ministerial launch of bus advertisements for the Heart Attack Awareness Campaign yesterday (24 January) at Parliament Buildings.
This is just one of a number of serious findings from a Heart Attack Awareness audit carried out by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and British Heart Foundation (BHF) Northern Ireland. The findings were revealed when data was collected on patients who presented with chest pain symptoms between 8 August 2011and 8 October 2011 to the Ulster Hospital.
Worryingly the audit outlines that only 19% of people admitted to the Coronary Care Unit with chest pain during the audit period stated their first call for assistance was 999.
Launching the second phase of the awareness campaign, Health Minister Edwin Poots said: “Early intervention by professionally trained medical staff is often vital to the wellbeing of someone suffering from a heart attack. I would encourage everyone to be aware of the signs and symptoms of heart attack in themselves and others and to call 999 immediately.”
Stephanie Leckey, Community Development Co-ordinator and Campaign Lead for BHF Northern Ireland said
“People assume that a heart attack will be an overwhelming crushing chest pain, however, symptoms vary from person to person. Central chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack but other symptoms include the pain spreading to the arms, neck or jaw. Some people can feel sick or sweaty and some people can feel short of breath as well as having central chest pain.”
“We want people to take chest pain seriously so that if they suffer a heart attack, they stand the best chance of being among the survivors.”
Current figures show that over 61,000 people in Northern Ireland have had a heart attack.(1) Of the 83,000 people in the UK who die from heart attacks every year (2), a third of people die before reaching hospital (3) often because they have waited too long to seek medical help.
The Heart Attack Awareness Campaign is being piloted in the North Down, Ards and East Belfast areas over the next four months and is a joint partnership between BHF Northern Ireland, South Eastern and Belfast Health & Social Care Trusts. Marking the second phase of the campaign, bus advertisements will run for the next two weeks and will support ongoing awareness materials such as bags for life, posters and information leaflets.
The campaign is also supported by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) and the Northern Ireland Cardiac Services Network.
For more information on heart attack symptoms visit bhf.org.uk or www.2minutes.org.uk For more information please call Jayne Murray, Public Affairs & Communications Manager, BHF Northern Ireland on 07984 672158 or 07984 672158 or email murrayj@bhf.org.uk. For out of hours press support, contact 07764 290381.