Report: Not Many Americans Know Everything about Heart Attack
By Anna Boyd
13:55, February 25th 2008
49 votes
Vote this story
Report: Not Many Americans Know Everything about Heart Attack

A new report found that most U.S. adults are not aware of the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack, and that the differences in awareness are based on race, geographical region, and sex.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that only 27 percent of adults would recognize all heart attack warning signs and would call emergency services if they suspected someone were having a heart attack or stroke, Jing Fang, M.D., and colleagues at the CDC wrote in the report.

The report was based on a 2005 telephone poll of 72,000 U.S. adults in 13 states and Washington, D.C. It also found that 14.3 percent of Hispanics know the signs of heart attack and the appropriate actions to take, compared to 16.2 percent of African –American people.

The residents of West Virginia were the best informed (35.5 percent), followed by residents of Iowa and Minnesota. The District of Columbia had the lowest proportion (16 percent). Heart disease is the leading cause of death in West Virginia, killing more than 6,000 people a year.

“There are few people in our state who don’t have some connection to someone who's had a heart attack. It makes them more aware, and they tend to pay more attention to those things. They know what to look out for,” Kevin Pauley, representative with the West Virginia chapter of the American Heart Association said.

Most participants knew at least a few heart attack symptoms, especially chest pain (92 percent) and shortness of breath (93 percent). Then there were pain or discomfort in the arms or shoulder (85 percent), feeling weak, lightheaded, or faint (62 percent) and pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back (48 percent).

Dr. Fang warned that knowledge gap could be deadly. Certain drugs can stop heart attacks, but they should ideally be given within an hour after heart attack symptoms start.

Because the study included only people from 13 states and Washington, D.C., the findings may not represent all U.S. adults, Dr. Fang said.

More than 900,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year, and about 157,000 of them are fatal.

The report was published online February 22, 2008 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.



© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia
dotclear

Other News in

Seroquel XR Approved By The FDA For Usage Beyond Schizophrenia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for treatment for disorder and chronic depression. The drug, called Seroquel XR, is a product AstraZeneca. According to the company’s...

WHO Is Concerned About Mental Health Worldwide

WHO Is Concerned About Mental Health Worldwide

The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that the global financial crisis may contribute to a serious aggravation of mental health problems worldwide. People who directly suffer the...

One Quarter of United States Teen Girls Received HPV Vaccine

One Quarter of United States Teen Girls Received HPV Vaccine

On Thursday, federal health officials informed that 25 percent of teen girls in the United States had received the vaccine against cervical cancer. The government’s study was aimed at gathering...

WHO Says 450 Million Suffer From Mental Illnesses

WHO Says 450 Million Suffer From Mental Illnesses

October 10 is the annual World Mental Health Day and this year’s conference revealed some shocking facts regarding the way mental illnesses are perceived and dealt with. WHO, the World Health...

First Double Arm Transplant, a Real Success

The first double arm transplant in the world took place in Munich, at the University Clinic. The beneficiary was a German farmer, Karl Merk. He had lost his arms six years ago, in a combine...

dotclear
Latest videos in Health
The White House Turns Pink
Teens 'chat' With Scientists...
NY Nursing Home Workers...
Toxic milk alert hits South...
Tainted Milk Scandal Spreads...

dotclear
Health You are here: Health
» Science   » Health   
E-mail To A Friend Print RSS Text size: Decrease font size Increase font size
dotclear
dotclear
dotclear
Most Popular in Health
Update: New Arms For 54-Year-Old German AmputeeUpdate: New Arms For 54-Year-Old German Amputee

» read full story
dotclear

Interested In This Topic?

News Alert will keep you informed. Find out more.
dotclear
Photos Gallery
dotclear
Today's Latest News
City Of Ember” Takes Us On A Wilde Ride Underneath The SurfaceCity Of Ember” Takes Us On A Wilde Ride Underneath The Surface

» read full story
dotclear