Chest Pain Center
If you or someone you know is having chest discomfort, call 9-1-1 and get
to a hospital immediately.
Frederick Health Hospital is accredited as a Chest Pain Center with Primary
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) by the American College of Cardiology
(ACC). Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as coronary
angioplasty, is a non-surgical procedure that opens narrowed or blocked
coronary arteries with a balloon to relieve symptoms of heart disease
or reduce heart damage during or after a heart attack.
Achieving this accreditation means that we offer PCI 24/7, every day of
the year; and that our care to patients with heart attack symptoms meet
and exceed the high standards of the ACC. In order to maintain this outstanding
achievement, Frederick Health Hospital has an organized team of medical
professionals and administrative staff that earnestly supports efforts
leading to better patient care, better patient education, and improved
patient outcomes for those with symptoms of heart attack.
Heart Attack Facts and Treatment
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with
more than 600,000 deaths annually from heart disease and more than 5 million
visits to hospital emergency rooms due to chest discomfort. One in three
adults in the United States suffers from a form of coronary heart disease.
Women’s heart issues are on the rise. Coronary heart disease is the
number one single killer of women over the age of 25. In addition, heart
disease rates in post menopausal women are two to three times higher than
in pre-menopausal women of the same age.
Having heart trouble? Here’s what to do.
If you think you’re having a heart attack, don’t wait. Know
the signs and symptoms of heart trouble. If you experience any of the
following symptoms, call 9-1-1 and proceed to the closest emergency room:
- Pressure, fullness, squeezing pain in the center of the chest, spreading
to the neck, shoulder or jaw
- Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath
- Upper abdominal pressure or discomfort
- Lower chest discomfort
- Back pain
- Unusual fatigue
- Unusual shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Nausea
Keep in mind that for women, the symptoms are just as dire, but often much
more subtle (and easier to ignore):
- Chest discomfort – often described as pressure rather than acute
pain in women
- Discomfort in other parts of the body – one or both arms, the back,
jaw, or stomach
- Shortness of breath – with or without chest discomfort
- Cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness
For a printable brochure on Early Heart Attack Care, click
HERE.
For a printable brochure on Early Heart Attack Care in Spanish, Click
HERE

Early Heart Attack Care (or EHAC) education teaches you to recognize the
early signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Why? We want you to become
an active bystander so you can save a life - even if it’s yours.
• About 750,000 people in the U.S. have heart attacks each year.
Of those, about 116,000 die.
• Many of these patients experienced early symptoms.

Someone might have one or more of these common symptoms. When they start,
they can be mild or come and go. Over time, the symptoms and pain become
more intense.
Stay alert and always pay attention to chest pressure.
