Urgency in Treating a Heart Attack in Richmond, KY
Urgency in Treating Heart Attack Health Talk Transcript:
Larry Todd Breeding, MD, Interventional Cardiology
Baptist Health Richmond
Larry Todd Breeding, MD:
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of adult men in the United States. When we talk about cardiac-related deaths in men, in many instances, what we are talking about is heart attacks and the complications that arise from a heart attack.
The most common symptom we typically encounter is chest discomfort. Other patients may experience shortness of breath, they may experience a sense that their heart is racing, beating irregularly.
One of the things we try to get out as a public service message to the community is the importance for men to seek medical attention as early as possible.
At Baptist Health Richmond, we have the capability of doing an emergency heart catheterization by opening a blocked artery that is causing the heart attack. We have staff available 24 hours a day, and if you present early into your heart attack, we can perform this minimally invasive procedure. Once the blocked artery is open, that allows for immediate recovery of blood flow to the heart, thereby terminating the heart attack. The longer you wait, the more heart muscle dies before we have the opportunity to use the techniques that are available here.
