Why you should call 911 when experiencing a heart attack

Why call 911?

When every minute counts when having a heart attack, many people think driving themselves to the emergency room is the quickest way to get treatment. In fact, more than 50 percent of all patients experiencing chest pain walk into the ER rather than calling 911, according to the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

Unfortunately, what many people don’t realize is that an ambulance is more than just a transport vehicle, especially at Williamson Medical Center, and calling 911 does in fact start treatment earlier. Here’s why:

  • 911 dispatchers in Williamson County are trained to not only locate you quickly but also assist you in early treatment options.
  • Williamson Medical Center’s emergency response time is 6 minutes—well below the national average.
  • Williamson Medical Center’s highly advanced EMS can assess for a heart attack through electrocardiogram and digitally transmit those results to the Emergency Department, where a board-certified physician reads the results and determines the best course of treatment, often before the patient even arrives at the Medical Center.
  • Williamson Medical Center’s EMS brings the Emergency Department to you and can begin the appropriate treatment immediately. Click here to learn more.

Surviving the “widow maker”

To Elizabeth Tyer, Williamson Medical Center is where she got her life back. She never expected to have a “widow maker” heart attack in her early 40s, but when she called EMS after sickness that worsened by the hour, our paramedics were able to communicate the status of Elizabeth’s condition so that when they arrived, doctors and nurses were standing by and ready to go.

She had a stent inserted into her aortic artery within the hour and credits the fast response time and knowledgeable cardiologists at WMC with the reason she is here to tell her story today.

 

Protect your heart: