Sister Joan Lampton of Kirkwood was cleaning up after hosting a lovely lunch for her friend when she was struck with a heart attack.

“I did not experience any of the common signs of a heart attack,” she said.  “I had no chest pain, no arm pain and no indigestion.  I was loading my dishwasher and I bent over and just started perspiring profusely and grew very weak.  I knew something was very wrong so I called 9-1-1.” 

That call to 9-1-1 set off a chain of events that would take her from phone call to a lifesaving stent in 52 minutes, saving her heart muscle and her life.

“EMS did a wonderful job,” said Sister Lampton.

After assessing her, they transmitted her field EKG (electrocardiogram) from the ambulance directly to Des Peres Hospital’s Emergency Department for review.  As an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Des Peres Hospital has all the systems and procedures in place to assess patients and reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective.  The Cardiac Cath Lab Team was alerted immediately and was waiting for Sister Lampton when the ambulance pulled up.

“As a Chest Pain Center, we know that by tightly integrating the efforts of the community, emergency responders, our emergency department and our cardiac catheterization lab, we strengthen the ‘chain of survival’ for heart attack patients and maximize their chances for recovery,” said Dr. Gary Vlahovich, the interventional cardiologist who oversaw Sister Lampton’s care.

A month after her heart attack, Sister Lampton was reunited with some of the staff who took care of her.  She was absolutely delighted to be able to thank each of them.  She is healthy and strong -- back to exercising and has really only eliminated salt from her diet.  The message she wants to get out to everyone is to call 911 as soon as you start experiencing symptoms.

According to the American Heart Association, a person experiencing a heart attack may not even be sure of what is happening.  Heart attack symptoms vary among individuals, and even a person who has had a previous heart attack may have different symptoms in a subsequent heart attack.  Although chest pain or pressure is the most common symptom of a heart attack, heart attack victims may experience a diversity of symptoms that include:

• Pain, fullness, and/or squeezing sensation of the chest
• Jaw pain, toothache, headache
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea, vomiting, and/or general epigastric (upper middle abdomen) discomfort
• Sweating
• Heartburn and/or indigestion
• Arm pain (more commonly the left arm, but may be either arm)
• Upper back pain
• General malaise (vague feeling of illness)
• No symptoms (Approximately one quarter of all heart attacks are silent, without chest pain or new symptoms.  Silent heart attacks are especially common among patients with diabetes mellitus)

 
Learn the signs, but remember this: Even if you're not sure it's a heart attack, have it checked out. Minutes matter!  Fast action can save lives — don’t wait more than five minutes to call 9-1-1.