A heart attack is a serious medical emergency in which the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot. Lack of blood to the heart can seriously damage the heart muscle. A heart attack is known medically as a Myocardial Infarction or MI.

Symptoms can include:

• chest pain – the chest can feel like it is being pressed or squeezed by a heavy object, and pain can radiate from the chest to the jaw, neck, arms and back
• shortness of breath
• feeling weak and/or lightheaded
• overwhelming feeling of anxiety

It is important to stress that not everyone experiences severe chest pain; the pain can often be mild and mistaken for indigestion. It is the combination of symptoms that is important in determining whether a person is having a heart attack, and not the severity of chest pain.

USING A DEFIBRILLATOR 

Increasingly Defibrillators are being made available in Public Places and have also recently been located at some CEMEX sites, predominantly the larger sites or very remote locations where medical assistance may take longer to arrive.

An AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is a device that gives the heart an electric shock when someone’s heart has stopped (cardiac arrest).

You can use an AED on children over one year old and adults.

Ambulances have them on board but using an AED in the minutes before an ambulance arrives can double someone’s chances of survival. So it is up to bystanders quickly to find the nearest defibrillator.

Where can I find a defibrillator (AED)?

Many public places keep an AED as part of their first aid equipment, including shopping centres, train stations, airports, offices and schools. AEDs come in a small portable plastic box and are stored in noticeable green casing with a green sign above.

If you don’t have access to an AED then you should call 999 or 112 for help and do ordinary resuscitation (CPR) until the ambulance and AED arrives.

Visit the Health Essentials Site on Shift:  http://cdm.cemex.com/sites/UK_Health_Safety/HEALTH ESSENTIALS/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=%2fsites%2fUK%5fHealth%5fSafety%2fHEALTH%20ESSENTIALS&View=%7b0C38EAD6%2dE4DA%2d42FE%2d8402%2d7D7039B1FDD0%7d for more information on general health topics.