EMS Questions.

@PoetryNEmotion Everyone is different, but my general practice is if something seems off, get checked out. It doesn't have to be because you are in pain, or have an obvious injury/illness. As im sure you already know, certain medical emergencies can come about without symptoms, of any kind. So its always better to be safe. Just last night i had a 70 y/o male who dropped dead in his bedroom, and his wife found him several hours later. Unfortunately there was no treatment rendered, as his downtime was well beyond any hope of a successful resuscitation. But he had felt off for a few days, and had been putting of medical treatment, that probably would have saved his life . I dont discouraged anyone from getting ER assessment amd treatment, for the simple fact as our equipment is extremely advanced, but there are just some things we cannot confirm or disprove in the field. Also some people have put off treatment due to no insurance. I do my best to get these individuals to go with me to the ER, even going as far as writing off their ambulance bill.

@PoetryNEmotion As far as a heart attack or stroke, people should be advised that in some cases there wont be any signs or symptoms. And signs and symptoms can be different in men and women. But your obvious signs, where you should seek immediate treatment, would be chest pain, back pain (in women), difficulty breathing, chest tightness, irregular pulse, profuse sweating, feeling of impending doom, left shoulder/arm pain or numbness. The American Heart Association has great reading material that i advise everyone to read. As for a CVA we look for facial droop, left sided weakness, and high blood pressure, however in later stages of a stroke the blood pressure will even back out, or be low, anything lower than 80mm systolic and we treat for cardiogenic shock. In some cases you will have facial droop without any weakness, and this is typically bells palsy, easily treated with a steroid. But when it comes to a stroke time is tissue, and the sooner advanced treatment can be rendered, the less permanent damage that will ne done

@PoetryNEmotion A panic attack is difficult to diagnose, unlees you have a history, and can present as multiple, more serious, emergencies. They usually present with rapid heart rate, hyperventilation, light-headedness, and we are very careful how we treat these patients, so we dont play it off as a panic attack, and it was actually something much more severe

@Rc432017 Such an experienced expert. In total agreement. Thank you, brother.