It is the number one killer of the adult population in the United States. It has been in first place since the turn of the Century and as we go into the new millennium it continues to be Public Enemy Number One. What the citizens of this country don't realize is the fact that this need not take place . Heart Attacks need not kill 600,000 Americans each year. It does so because we allow it to be a crashing illness .
Citizens actually wait until symptoms are emergency enough to go into the emergency room.
We know full well that half of these deaths are preventable in that there are tell tale signals that a heart attack is on its way. Fifty percent of patients with heart attacks have a history of stuttering chest symptoms before they crash. Patients literally wait until it becomes emergency enough before going into the emergency room. We should learn from these histories taken from patients with heart attacks and appreciate that heart attacks have beginnings and that intervention early can actually prevent the heart attack from taking place, preventing death and damage to the heart muscle. There are many other reasons why patients don't come in to the hospital early.