When To Call A Professional

Seek emergency help immediately if you have chest pain, even if you think it is just indigestion or that you are too young to be having a heart attack. Prompt treatment increases your chance of limiting heart muscle damage, because reperfusion measures work best if they are started within 30 minutes after symptoms start.

Prognosis

About 15% of patients who suffer a heart attack die before they reach a hospital, and another 15% die after they arrive. Among the remaining 70% who survive hospitalization, about 4% (1 in 25) will die within the first year after discharge. However, this risk is not the same for all age groups. For example, for patients older than 65, the death rate is 20% within the first month after a heart attack, and 35% within the first year.

Additional Info

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) P.O. Box 30105 Bethesda, MD 20824-0105 Phone: (301) 592-8573 TTY: (240) 629-3255 Fax: (301) 592-8563 E-Mail: nhlbiinfo@rover.nhlbi.nih.gov http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

American Heart Association (AHA) 7272 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231 Toll-Free: (800) 242-8721 http://www.americanheart.org/