Patients urged to “act quickly” and call 999 if they’re experiencing heart problems | Latest news

Patients urged to “act quickly” and call 999 if they’re experiencing heart problems

Damian Kelly

A UHDB Consultant Cardiologist has urged patients to “act quickly” and not hesitate to call 999 if they think they’re experiencing problems with their heart. 

The Trust has seen a reduction over the last month or so in the number of emergency patients coming to our hospitals with serious health concerns, such as a heart attack or stroke.

Due to fears of catching Covid-19 or putting additional strain on the NHS, many people up and down the country have been choosing to stay away from hospital and not seek medical assistance.

With this in mind, Dr Damian Kelly, Consultant Cardiologist at UHDB, has emphasised that it is absolutely essential that members of the public act quickly and call 999 immediately should they have an urgent health concern.   

He said: “We’ve seen a number of patients in recent months and weeks who, for very well meaning reasons, have presented late with significant health problems, such as heart attacks. The message we want to get to you is that we’re very well set up in our hospitals to deal with any of your health problems in a rapid, professional manner.

Patients urged to "act quickly" and call 999 if they're experiencing heart problems from UHDB Communications on Vimeo.

“The best way to protect your health and also to protect the NHS now is to look after yourself and we just want to encourage you, if you have any worries or concerns, to seek urgent medical attention. We’re here to help.”

Sudden pain, tightness and pressure on the chest can all be signs that you’re having a heart attack, with other symptoms including shortness of breath and pain travelling from your chest to your arms, jaw, neck, back, or stomach.

Dr Kelly added: “We want you to act and look after yourself and act quickly on any adverse symptoms that you might have, in particular chest pain. If you have chest pain, out of the blue that’s unusual for you, if it’s severe, it’s really important that you call 999 and seek urgent medical attention. We don’t want to miss a heart attack that we could potentially treat because it makes a huge difference to your eventual outcome.”

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