COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
February is designated American Heart Month to urge Americans to join the fight against heart disease, the number one cause of death in our nation. The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often results in a heart attack.
Sturdy Memorial Hospital encourages people to maintain healthy lifestyles, which involves proper nutrition, physical activity, and managing diabetes, to reduce heart attack risk. Most importantly, knowing the warning signs of a heart attack and seeking immediate medical attention, even if you are not sure you or someone else is having a heart attack, could help save a life. The following are heart attack signs and symptoms:
- Chest discomfort in the center of the chest, which can feel like pressure, pain, fullness, or squeezing, that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back
- Pain or discomfort in other areas of the upper body, including one or both arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
- Shortness of breath along with, or before the onset of, chest discomfort.
- Other signs such as a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness.
For more information about heart disease and heart attack awareness, visit the American Heart Association website at www.heart.org.
Sturdy Memorial Hospital is a full-service, independent, financially stable, not-for-profit acute care community hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts.