Heart Attacks

Take our heart attack quiz

Heart disease strikes South Coast residents more frequently than anywhere else in Massachusetts. In fact, Southcoast Hospitals Group, which includes Charlton, St. Luke's and Tobey Hospitals, ranks second in the entire state - including both teaching and community hospitals - for the greatest number of cardiac medical discharges.

Heart disease strikes most often in the form of a heart attack. All three Southcoast hospitals have developed one of the most sophisticated and comprehensive heart attack treatment systems available anywhere - treatment that exceeds the national "gold standards" set by the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

If You Think You Might Be Having a Heart Attack

Getting the right treatment quickly is like slamming the brakes on your heart attack and improving your chances for full recovery. Know the signs:
• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes.

• Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms.

• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.

• Heart attack symptoms may differ for men and women. Women should pay special attention to any chest discomfort because they may only have vague symptoms. Women's symptoms may include jaw pain or just dizziness and nausea.


If you have ANY of these symptoms, don't wait.

Call 911 in any community throughout the South Coast region. If a cardiac emergency occurs en-route, paramedics and EMTs can deliver care that includes cardiac defibrillation and other treatment that will greatly increase your chances for survival.

Remember, you and your family are the most critical people in treating a heart attack. More than half of heart attack deaths occur within the first hour after symptoms begin.

The faster you call, the faster you heal.

If You Think You Might Be Having a Heart Attack

A heart "attack" occurs when heart muscle is deprived of blood flow. If blood flow stops for an extended period - measured in just minutes to hours - heart muscle dies and damage can be irreparable.

Heart Attack

Quick and correct diagnosis is the important first step in treating a heart attack - and can literally mean the difference between life and death. Patients at all three of our hospital emergency rooms undergo treatment within minutes of arrival.

• Southcoast Hospitals all use a new blood test which can help definitively diagnose heart disease more quickly. Physicians have results within 20 minutes and can begin whatever treatment might be indicated.

• "Clot busting" drugs are one of the biggest advancements in heart attack care and can literally reverse a heart attack while it is happening. These drugs need to be delivered within 30 minutes of a patient's arrival in the emergency room, according to standards set by the American College of Cardiologists. All three Southcoast hospitals rank in the top 10 percent nationwide in meeting or exceeding these important guidelines for top cardiac care.

• At Southcoast, your heart is in the hands of experts. Our Emergency Departments are staffed with board certified emergency physicians and highly trained nurses who all certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Many of our 32 staff cardiologists regularly practice in teaching hospitals in Boston and Providence as well as in the community.

Did you know ...

... 30 percent of all heart attacks occur in people younger than 65.

Heart disease in the South Coast region is 24 percent higher than the rest of the state. This may be because of a high incidence of cardiac risk factors including a high rate of smoking, being overweight and lack of exercise.