“It felt like I was walking through treacle,” says one patient.

In the West Midlands, NHS cardiac specialists are telling the public during British Heart Foundation’s Heart Month why it is essential to recognise the signs and symptoms if you think you’re having a heart attack.

A heart attack is a sudden interruption to the blood supply to part of the heart muscle, starving it of oxygen-rich blood. It is not the same as a cardiac arrest, however if left untreated it can lead to a cardiac arrest so it is vital that you call 999 immediately.

Some signs of heart attack are:

• chest pain – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest
• pain in other parts of the body – as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy
• feeling lightheaded or dizzy
• sweating
• shortness of breath
• feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)
• an overwhelming feeling of anxiety (similar to a panic attack)
• coughing or wheezing

NHS heart experts in the Midlands report that one of the biggest problems they see in their day-to-day practice are patients who don’t know the symptoms of a heart attack, or confuse them with other ailments like indigestion. This may delay the patient’s admission to emergency care.

When a heart attack occurs, it is essential that the patient be seen by a medical professional and treated as soon as possible. Major damage can be minimised with emergency treatment, particularly within the first 6 hours of symptoms, but treatment can be extremely helpful, even after this period

Any delays in treatment of a heart attack may lead to cardiac arrest and even death. A cardiac arrest is the most extreme emergency and happens when the heart stops beating in a normal way, preventing blood from pumping around the body. For someone in cardiac arrest, they will die within minutes unless treated immediately with CPR.

Some signs of cardiac arrest are:

• they appear not to be breathing
• they’re not moving
• they don’t respond to any stimulation, such as being touched or spoken to

Dr James Cotton, Consultant Cardiologist, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust said: “If you are suffering the symptoms of a heart attack, it is essential that you seek urgent medical attention by calling 999.

“When you suffer a heart attack, your survival chances reduce rapidly with time, and improve hugely once you have medically trained personnel with you, or you are in hospital. Emergency hospital treatment to restore the blood supply to your heart muscle will stop the damage to your heart and further improve your survival. The sooner you gain access to this treatment, the better your chances to make a full recovery – ‘Time is muscle’. This is why it is so important that you and your family know how to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack.

“If someone suffers the symptoms of a heart attack and becomes unresponsive, call for help immediately and also call 999. Then start CPR if trained to do so, or take advice from the 999 service. If possible ask someone to bring a community defibrillator if there is one nearby, and follow the clear and easy to follow enclosed instructions while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.”

Chris, who experienced a heart attack a few months ago and was admitted to New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, said: “On Thursday 2 May, 2024 I started to feel unwell.  I couldn’t put my finger on specific symptoms, I just didn’t feel ‘right’ and also felt a slight discomfort in the right side of my chest, similar to indigestion.  About an hour later as I tried to walk it felt like I was walking through treacle.  I told my wife I was going to bed for a while, but my wife suggested we go to A&E or the walk-in clinic at Russell’s Hall Hospital to get checked out.

“Within two minutes of arriving I was lying on a bed being wired up to an ECG machine and was immediately told I was in the middle of a major heart attack. I was transferred to the resuscitation area and arrangements were made to transfer me immediately by ambulance to New Cross Hospital.  When I arrived at New Cross, I was taken to the Cardiac theatre where a team was awaiting my arrival.  It was explained I was going to have an angioplasty procedure.

“I was fully conscious during the procedure and the team talked me through all of the stages including the insertion of a stent, so that my blocked right artery would remain fully open.  Only three hours had elapsed from the time my wife suggested we go to hospital to me lying in a side ward post-procedure.  An ultrasound scan of my heart the next day showed it to be in good condition although badly bruised as a result of the heart attack. I was in New Cross for three days while I began my initial recovery. “