Time is muscle: increase your odds of surviving a heart attack

Doctors say that time is muscle during a heart attack. That's because during a heart attack, heart muscle begins to die, and a patient's outcome is largely determined by how much muscle is lost.

What do I do if I experience heart attack symptoms?

If you are experiencing symptoms and suspect a heart attack, don't wait - get to the hospital fast. Call 911 immediately so EMS personnel can begin lifesaving treatment. They also have the equipment to transmit vital information about your heart from the field to hospitals like Oconomowoc Memorial and Waukesha Memorial. 

Armed with this information, physicians and personnel in the emergency department can have the necessary specialists standing by. Many times heart attack patients can skip the emergency room when the ambulance arrives and go straight to the cardiac cath lab for lifesaving stent placement/angioplasty, saving precious time and therefore heart muscle.

When seconds count, you can trust Oconomowoc and Waukesha Memorial Hospitals, where emergency stent placement is available 24/7. 

Don't delay - get help right away!

 

New Life - Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital

"The day was October 10th, the last day of my life. I was 65 years old. I had just come in from riding my bike, and I didn't feel quite right. I had a little headache... a little nauseous... slight pain in my elbow.... We live in Ixonia, only a few minutes from the hospital, so I asked my wife to take me to Oconomowoc Memorial. Immediately, I was given a heart exam and was told that I needed to stay overnight so they could monitor me. As the night wore on, I told my wife to go home and get some rest. The next morning, she came back and as we were visiting, things began to get a bit foggy and slightly blurred.... I was still conscious when I actually saw seven rows of lightning go through my head - I believe this was my internal electrical system shutting down. This was my last memory of life. Approximately three minutes after I died I was brought back to life with the electrical paddles and a shot of TPA. That was October 11th, the first day of the rest of my life. Today I am 80 years old and enjoying an active life."   - Ernest Nicolette, Oconomowoc Memorial Patient

Read more about our Partnership with Patients

For More Information

Do you have questions about heart health?  Call the Regional Heart & Vascular Center at 262-928-2330.

Learn more about heart disease, prevention, tips, news and more by visiting our wellness interactive library.

Heart Quiz

The Heart Quiz gives you a chance to test your knowledge on areas such as blood pressure and cholesterol and how it can affect your heart.