Yahoo News NHS 8 reg flags you need to call 999 for heart attacks amid ambulance time fears
Brits are being warned to stay vigilant for eight signs of a potentially deadly heart attack amidst criticism over "unacceptable" ambulance delays across the UK. Shocking new statistics reveal that individuals suffering from heart attacks or strokes in England faced an average wait of 42 minutes for an ambulance in October.
This marks a significant increase from the 36-minute average for category 2 calls recorded in September and setting a new record for the worst monthly average in 2024. Before the pandemic hit, the target response time for such urgent category 2 calls, which include suspected heart attacks and strokes, was set at an average of 18 minutes.
However, this target was revised to 30 minutes in 2024 due to escalating pressures on the NHS, a surge in cardiovascular needs, and persistent delays in ambulance services. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), expressed concerns: "Heart attacks and strokes are life-threatening emergencies. With each minute lost, the risk of permanent brain or heart damage, and even death, increases."
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She added: "That’s why it is so unacceptable that average ambulance response times are so high, and we’ve not seen the worst of winter yet." Dr Babu-Narayan also highlighted systemic issues stating: "Dangerous waits for emergency heart attack and stroke care suggest there are severe problems in every part of the system providing vital care for heart patients. Heart care waiting times remain at a near-record high, despite a modest fall this month."
Despite a slight decrease this month, she noted that heart care waiting times remain alarmingly close to record highs. Across England, ambulance response times are significantly inconsistent, and all regions have missed the 30-minute target, according to the BHF. The East Midlands posted October's longest category 2 average wait time at 58 minutes.
Coupled with this concern is the revelation that while the cardiac care waitlist has seen a slight drop at September's end for the first since November 2023, the number of patients waiting over 18 weeks for vital cardiac treatment remains unprecedentedly high.
Despite these waits, Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan emphasises the importance of seeking immediate help during heart attack situations, stating: "If you experience the symptoms of a heart attack, please don’t hesitate in phoning 999. It’s still the best thing to do and it could save your life."
Symptoms
According to the NHS, the symptoms of a heart attack can include:
Chest pain – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest
Pain in other parts of the body – it can feel 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.
The health body adds: “The chest pain is often severe, but some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion. While the most common symptom is chest pain, symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people may have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, feeling or being sick and back or jaw pain without any chest pain.”
The main symptoms of a stroke can happen suddenly. They may include:
Face weakness – one side of your face may droop (fall) and it might be hard to smile
Arm weakness – you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in one arm
Speech problems – you may slur your words or sound confused.
The easiest way to remember these symptoms is the word “FAST”. This stands for: “face, arms, speech and time to call 999”.
