EHAC stands for Early Heart Attack Care. It is an awareness program for early symptoms of a heart attack. Specifically it is targeted at prodromal symptoms which is a form of unstable angina. The reason that it is targeted here is that it has been our experience that the public is not fully aware that symptoms are important enough to seek early care in the emergency department. Yet if one waited long enough with these symptoms, in most cases the chest discomfort would become severe and prolonged and patients would present too late to significantly reduce damage and even death in patients suffering such symptoms.

What are prodromal symptoms of a heart attack. Simply stated they are central chest discomforts not described as pain, but possibly an ache, a pressure, a burning sensation, or a fullness centrally located within the chest. Patients will raise their voice and tell you that "it was not pain, Doc", and that is why they did not come in early. It is almost as if patients with chest discomfort have to have a threshold that is reached before coming into the emergency department to be checked out. Yet 50% of patients with heart attacks have these mild chest symptoms. Perhaps the most important reason why such patients do not come immediately to the hospitals is that these early symptoms occur intermittently over hours and sometimes days giving one the false impression that they may go away. Patients then, hope and pray that it is not "the big one" that may take their life.

Learn more about EHAC and these early symptoms. Prepare a strategy in your own life and you will never have to say that you are sorry for making a mistake and not having to leave a loved one around because of this ignorance.

Heart attacks have beginnings........Recognize them........intervene........and protect your life. That is what the message of EHAC is all about. At the other end of the spectrum, we find CPR. CPR instruction is needed for dead people to resuscitate them back to life........Whereas EHAC instruction is intervention that allows living. It is using good common sense early to prevent the problem from happening.

Learn more by surfing on our web site give us feedback. Together we can take heart disease out of first place........a place that is has occupied since the turn of the century. This "mission impossible" becomes "mission possible" with all of us acquiring this knowledge and dedication and daring to be different.

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