Dr. Deb

I live in Cincinnati and like most Midwestern towns we pride ourselves on being nice and caring people. I was shocked to learn that Cincinnatians are less than half as likely to perform CPR compared to the National Average. Only 11.5% of Cincinnatians know and are willing to perform CPR compared to the national average of 25% according to the University of Cincinnati.

If your family member were having a heart attack, would you know what to do?

Nearly 80% of Heart Attacks occur in the home and most people that survive a heart attack had CPR started before emergency care arrives.

Here is a quick overview that you can do today. Everyone should take a class from the Red Cross who has a plethora of options, but a one-hour class could save a life.

If you are not trained in CPR and see someone go down here is the quick rundown so you don’t just stand there.

CPR Steps

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I’m wearing Red for Heart Health Awareness but one team will be certainly be seeing Red this Sunday when either the Steelers or the Packers are defeated in Super Bowl XLV.  Dramatic losses in Superbowl games actually increased heart attacks, especially in older people and women as published in a study this week in Clinical Cardiology.

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women, killing 1 in 3 men and women.  More women die of CV disease than the next 5 leading causes of death combined including all forms of cancer so let me give those Packers and Steelers some advice before the big game that may help save a life.

What are the warning signs of a heart attack?

Most people know about crushing chest pain or “Hollywood Heart Attack” as a sign but only 27% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1 when someone was having a heart attack. Women are more likely to have surprising symptoms other than chest pain. You may only experience one of the symptoms and if you have already had a heart attack, your next may have different symptoms than the first.

Surprising Signs of a Heart Attack

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