Before the ambulance arrives:
These are just a few things that will help us after you have called 911.
- Stay calm. Help is on the way.
- Make the patient as comfortable as possible.
- Turn on the lights... Outside to make it easier to find your house, and inside so we can better see the patient and anything that might harm us.
- Gather medications. Making a list or gathering the meds the patient is taking will save time when responders arrive and also help us in our initial assesment. Click here to download a medication form to fill out and keep near your medicine.
- Move furniture so EMS responders have easy access to the patient. Putting pets, especially agressive dogs, behind a closed door is also a big help!
- Remember when... the symptoms started, the patient lost consciousness, etc. How long ago did the patient have surgery, a stroke, a heart attack? etc. Those are all things the responders are going to ask when they arrive.
Heart Attack
- Tightness or pain in chest
- Burning sensation in chest or throat
- Pain in left arm, across shoulders, jaw or neck
- Shortness of breath
- May come and go with activity
Stroke
- Weakness or numbness of the face, arm, leg, or one side of the body
- Blurred vision, usually in one eye
- Difficulty speaking or understanding conversation
- Dizziness or loss of ballance
- Sudden severe headache