Heart attack with no signs of hypoxia?

[237SJ]

As above - is it possible? Thanks

[237SJ]

To clarify - I mean visible signs - ie blue lips, nail beds etc

[ummmm]

Yes..

There was something on TV about it recently. I think it's more common in women and some were having heart attacks (mild I assume) and writing it off as something else.

[237SJ]

I think I read something about that recently ummm. I think it was after Rosie O Donnell had a recent heart attack.

[Sqad]

I would have thought that the vast majority of cases of an acute coronary thrombosis occurs without signs of hypoxia (blue lips etc)

Cyanosis is what you are describing and that is usually due to a long standing lung problems rather than a sudden onset of coronary artery occlusion ( heart attack)

[237SJ]

Thanks sqad. I would have thought that if the heart isn`t pumping effectively, then hypoxia would be evident. We`ve always had that drilled into us at work but I suppose you can get text book and non text book heart attacks. I had a customer have what I`m pretty sure was a heart attack on me on Tuesday night. We certainly treated as such but the only thing she didn`t have was hypoxia. We did get oxygen on her fairly quickly though so that probably helped.

[cathfromsaron]

low oxygen levels may or may not occur, or may or not be noticeable, so get help even if you are not sure!

click here for more info ...

http://www.nhs.uk/Con...k/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

[Sqad]

237SJ..........in the majority of heart attacks, the heart does continue to pump effectively, this being due to other coronary arteries opening up to maintain the blood supply to the heart muscle.

One MAY get cyanosis in the case of a heart attack if the heart is already "knackered" by previous heart attacks or valvular disease. Cyanosis takes time to develop and the heart or lungs must be failing for this to be clinically apparent.

Of course a massive coronary occlusion incompatible with life may show cyanosis prior to death.

The vast majority of survivable coronary occlusions do not show signs of hypoxia, one good reason being that they tend to be diagnosed and treated early.

Diagnosis of a heart attack is made on history, abnormal level of cardiac enzymes in the blood and at a later stage ECG changes.

Cyanosis (hypoxia) as a diagnostic tool is of minor significance.

[237SJ]

Thanks sqad. The powers that be at work seem to be obsessed with the defib these days to I guess the blueness is more at the pre death stage as you said. She had a history of chest pain due to anxiety and was on ssri for that plus pain killers for her back. After it went on for a lot longer than normal and she said it was a lot worse than usual I asked her about a history of angina etc. She`d "had all the tests". I still suspected `heart` though. When she complained about pains in her arms and then vomited I treated for heart attack - oxygen, aspirin and Buccastem for the vomiting. You can only do what you can do. Got on the radio to remote medicine specialists we use and they seemed to agree.

[Sqad]

237SJ....and I would have agreed with the treatment that you administered.

It could well have been an anginal attack rather than coronary occlusion and measuring the blood levels of heart muscle enzymes would soon differentiate and if there was still queries, then coronary angiograms would be the ultimate answer.

[237SJ]

I did ask her if she had ever been tested for angina and she said no but then if you suffer from angina, there is always going to have been a first attack with no history, isn`t there? The reason I first thought of angina is because she was someone who was stress-prone and an angina attack could have been brought on by that. It was when she vomited that the alarm bells really rang though. She was carted off by the paramedics so she will find out if she had a heart attack or not. Shame we never get to hear the outcome really. Why do these things always happen exactly half way across the Atlantic? (If not there, then over Siberia or the middle of Africa)

[Sqad]

237SJ........;-)