I’ve often thought, “Hmm. If I ever have a heart attack, I hope I’m very near or even in a hospital.” Well, maybe I haven’t actually thought exactly that — but what better place could you be if the Big One strikes than in a hospital, right?
Wrong. Turns out researchers have found that hospital staffers take too long to respond to heart attacks in about a third of cardiac arrests in hospitals, which the article says “contribute to thousands of deaths a year in the United States.
Perhaps this shouldn’t really shock me. I have a dear friend who’s had multiple heart attacks. The first time it happened to him (when he was in his mid-50s, I believe), he rallied around and drove himself to a hospital emergency room. He stumbled gasping into the ER office area clutching his chest, and fell up against the wall, then slid down to a sitting position. The staff members came around the desk, helped him to a seat — then proceeded to ignore him for more than 15 minutes, assuming he was a homeless street person who had been drinking. (The man actually was a well-respected educator of 30+ years experience and some renown in the community.)
It’s a bit scary to know that, nationwide, hospital response and care to heart attacks hasn’t gotten much better in the 14 years since my friend’s experience. If there’s a “moral” or lesson to be learned from this news, I’m not sure what it would be.
Don’t have a heart attack? If you have one while in a hospital, gasp out the message loud and clear that you’re having cardiac arrest (and you would know this HOW?), or something.
Ah, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the papers.
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