February is ‘Heart Month’: Knowing heart attack symptoms can save a life, and it could be yours Published Feb. 20, 2015 By Kimberly Woodruff Staff Writer TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A Tinker man, who once worked building 911 systems, is now alive and well after his wife used that system to get him help following a heart attack. Curtis Smith, a program manager with the Air Force Sustainment Center and a retired Navy master chief, had a heart attack at the young age of 56. In early 2007, Mr. Smith and a co-worker were deployed to Dyess AFB, Texas. After completing their inspections, they decided to leave a day early due to snow warnings. That turned out to be a life-saving decision. Mr. Smith awoke at home the following morning feeling light-headed, clammy, sweaty and short of breath. He asked his wife to take him to the doctor. Living just six miles north of Shawnee, Nancy helped him into the car and began driving to the hospital. Minutes later, she called for an ambulance to meet them at the Shawnee mall. "She must have seen something in me, because she was crying," Mr. Smith said of his wife of 31 years. "That scared the heck out of me." "You hear people say it feels like an elephant sitting on your chest, and I guess that is a pretty good description because it is a tightening feeling in the chest that makes it hard to breathe," said Mr. Smith. The paramedics met them and gave Mr. Smith nitroglycerin. He said he felt great after that and could have gone back home. "I thought my wife was going to hit me (after that comment)," Mr. Smith said. "And the paramedics didn't seem too happy with me either." He agreed to go to the hospital, where it was confirmed he had suffered a heart attack. Mr. Smith was kept in the hospital over the weekend while awaiting an angiogram. A week later, Dr. John Hadid, at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital, confirmed there were two blockages and put in two stints to open up the arteries. Four months later, Mr. Smith went in for a stress test, but he couldn't complete it. "I had to stop them because my legs were cramping so bad," he said. Tests showed the two main arteries at the legs were blocked 95 and 100 percent respectively. So, the next step was a bi-femur bypass, again at Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Mr. Smith said things were rough for a few years. He later had stomach trouble from the aspirin regimen he was on. He had become anemic and needed blood. Mr. Smith has no family history of heart disease. His mother died at age 84 and his dad lived into his 70s. "The one thing I do recommend for people is to have a family doctor and have regular check-ups," said Mr. Smith. "I didn't have one at the time but I do now, and I keep up with my check-ups." Knowing the signs of a heart attack, cardiac arrest and stroke are extremely important. Heart attack · Discomfort in the center of the chest lasting for more than a few minutes or the pain comes and goes. The pain can feel like pressure or squeezing. · Shortness of breath, breaking into a cold sweat, light headedness or nausea. · Discomfort in other areas of the upper body; pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Cardiac arrest According to the American Heart Association, "almost 80 percent of cardiac arrests happen at home. Almost no one survives." Signs of cardiac arrest include: · Sudden loss of responsiveness · No normal breathing -- victim does not take a breath when you lift their head · No response to tapping shoulders or asking if they are okay Spot a stroke F.A.S.T. · Face Drooping -- Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. · Arm Weakness -- Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? · Speech Difficulty -- Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "the sky is blue." Is the sentence repeated correctly? · Time to call 911 -- If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 911 and get them to the hospital immediately. (Some information from the American Heart Association) Heart Month Events · Learn the Warning Signs of Heart Attack and Stroke in a class taught by the Civilian Health Promotion Services. It will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Feb. 23 in the Bldg. 3001 PK Conference Room (Post 2AH-78A). For more information about this class or other health education classes, call CHPS at 582-6817 or email CHPStinker@psc.gov. · Tinker's Health Promotions will celebrate Heart Month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 24 in the DFAC-Military Dining Facility Lobby. The event will include blood pressure readings, informational handouts, class information and drawing for prizes. For more information on classes taught by Health Promotions, call 734-5506.