Every year 70.000 people in the UK suffer from a heart attack. This means that one of the arteries supplying the heart is blocked and the heart muscle dies. The longer patients wait before calling for help the larger the damage to the heart and the higher the risk of death. In heart attacks every minute counts.

Often patients wait for hours before asking for help, some even wait for days before seeing the GP. Unfortunately, the damage is often done even if patients survive. Investigations and treatment are still required at this stage to reduce the risk of further heart attacks and death, but the long term outcome is not as good.

The main reason for delays appears to be that patients do not think that they have a heart attack when the symptoms start. We have asked patients who were admitted to the Lancashire cardiac centre with a heart attack how they would describe the symptoms leading up to admission. We were surprised that the classical symptom “chest pain” hardly featured at all. The most common discomfort described was Indigestion. 

We want to make a difference and reduce unnecessary delays and we would like you to help us. We have started the heart attack awareness campaign in collaboration with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and the Clinical Commissioning groups (CCG) of Blackpool and Fylde and Wyre.

If you would like to make a difference, please spread the message. With help of social media, you can save a life!