Tag Archives: EKG

Is It Possible To Have A Heart Attack And Not Know It

Heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is the leading cause of death in the United States. Recent studies have confirmed that sometimes people do unknowingly have a mild heart attack. These “silent heart attacks” can lead to serious heart muscle weakness. In fact, one-in-four heart attacks may not produce any of the normal symptoms someone would associate with heart problems. In most instances, the silent heart attack isn’t life-threatening but could still cause slight damage to the heart muscles or arteries leading to the heart.

Unhealthy activities such as smoking, drinking excessive alcohol, lack of exercise and drugs often lead to issues that can cause heart attacks. High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity are also contributors to an unhealthy heart and potentially lead to heart attack. If you live with any of the contributing factors for heart attack or heart disease, you should undergo screening for potential heart problems.

Heart Attack or Something Else?

Tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing accompanied by pain or numbness in the left arm could be symptoms of a very serious heart attack. They could also be symptoms of indigestion or acid reflux. Symptoms lasting more than five minutes could indicate a serious heart problem. No one can force you to call 9-1-1 if you suffer from any of these symptoms. However, it is highly recommended that if you feel you’ve had a heart attack, you should go to the doctor and have an EKG.

Heart Attack Prevention

Even if you’ve already experienced a heart attack, there are measures to help prevent future attacks. Obesity is one of the leading causes of heart disease and heart attack. Weight loss and exercise can dramatically decrease the risk of heart attack. Dieting, exercise and weight loss are not often easy life choices to make. Lifestyle changes are the most critical factors in surviving or preventing heart attacks. Some changes may include:

1. Blood thinning medications such as aspirin. Aspirin thins the blood and makes it less likely to clot. Blood clots cause heart attacks. Reducing the potential for clotting reduces the likelihood of heart attack. If you have already experienced heart attack, your physician may prescribe an anti-clotting drug that will help open narrowed arteries.

2. Beta blockers. By lowering heart rate and blood pressure, beta blockers reduce strain and demand on the heart itself. Many patients who have already suffered a heart attack must take beta blockers for the rest of their lives.

3. Diet and exercise. If you’ve never experienced a heart attack, diet and exercise could be the best prevention. Eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising about 30 minutes per day can strengthen the heart muscle and help maintain cleaner arteries. Obesity adds many contributing factors to heart problems. Weight loss brings with it reduced cholesterol and blood pressure, which also reduces the potential for heart attack.

4. Reduce stress. Stress is one of the leading causes of heart attack. Learn to manage your stress by reducing your workload and finding ways to minimize stress in your day-to-day activities will go a long way in preventing heart attack.

High Prevalence Of Heart Disease Expands Job Opportunities For Technicians

Heart disease has become widespread in the United States because of the increasing rate of chronic medical conditions related to a poor diet and the lack of routine exercise. Diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure negatively affect the ability of vital organs to function and can result in debilitating illnesses and even death. The poor health behaviors of the general public along with an increase in the size of the population and the number of Baby Boomers now entering retirement has created a spike in demand for cardiac care services. Because many healthcare facilities lack the advanced personnel and resources needed to meet the current demand, many administrators have begun hiring unlicensed technicians to perform many of the routine tasks associated with the provision of daily care. This trend has created many new job opportunities for EKG technicians as well as those who are working in other specialties.

The heart is one of the most important organs contained within the human body because of its role in circulating blood through the vast network of vessels that supply oxygen to tissues and transport waste to organs that specialize in filtration and excretion. Like all other organs, the heart requires oxygen to survive and must have a healthy network of vessels that supply it with the nutrients it needs. Individuals who suffer from clogged cardiac arteries are highly susceptible to developing heart attacks and may even die if a severe cardiac event occurs. Many of these patients must receive regular treatments in a cardiac unit in order to ensure that their heart remains functional. An EKG technician is someone who works under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed physician and whose job it is to carry out the basic tasks associated with the delivery of care to heart disease patients.

Some of the most common responsibilities that an EKG technician has include vital sign collection, medical history documentation, procedure preparation, electrocardiogram administration, telemetry, Holter monitoring, new technician training, and a variety of administrative tasks. The contributions of the technician to the patient care team is very important because it allows advanced medical personnel to spend their time evaluating new patients, developing treatment plans, and managing cases that involve complex heart diseases. Without the technician, access to cardiac care would become severely limited and many patients would not receive the life-saving treatment that they need. For this reason, many facilities have begun hiring more technicians to help manage the growing demand for care.

In general, the technician may only perform patient care tasks that are considered routine and that have a predictable outcome. Responsibilities that require advanced medical knowledge, judgment, or skill must be carried out by the nurse or physician and can never be delegated to the technician under any circumstances. The nurse or physician must evaluate a task before delegation to ensure that it has very little chance of jeopardizing the health and safety of patients and they must provide supervision as the technician is performing the task. These requirements are designed to protect patients and to ensure that the interests of medical personnel are preserved in cases of negligence. Most healthcare facilities have policies and procedures that determine how a task may be delegated and the steps that must be taken prior to assigning a responsibility to an unlicensed member of the team.

The fact that the EKG technician is an unlicensed member of the medical team means that most states do not regulate the profession. Employers often set their own education, training, and certification requirements for new technicians. While some employers will consider hiring individuals who have only a high school diploma or GED, they generally prefer those who have at least a two-year college degree and prior patient care experience. Those who do not possess formal credentials may still be able to secure employment after completing a training program provided by the hiring institution and successfully passing a nationally recognized certification exam. Direct contact with potential employers is the best way to ensure that their expectations are being met.