Heart Attack First Aid
Many people having a heart attack delay calling for help because they think it is indigestion or a pulled muscle. A first aider who recognises the signs and gets an ambulance moving saves heart muscle. This is covered in the medical emergencies part of the first aid course.
What to do
Call 998 straight away. Keep the person resting in a comfortable position, usually sitting. If they are not allergic to aspirin, have no bleeding problem and have not been told to avoid it, the first aid guidelines allow encouraging them to chew aspirin. Send for the AED and be ready to start CPR if they collapse.
Women, older adults and people with diabetes more often have breathlessness, nausea, back or jaw pain and unusual tiredness without classic chest pain. Take these symptoms seriously.
Aspirin helps some heart attacks but is harmful in some people. Only give it as the course teaches: to a responsive adult who is not allergic, has no bleeding problem and has not been told by a doctor to avoid it. Never delay calling 998 to find aspirin.
In a heart attack the person is awake and talking; a blocked artery is starving part of the heart. In cardiac arrest the heart stops pumping and the person collapses and is not breathing normally. A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest, which needs CPR and an AED immediately — see the chain of survival and AED use.
Do not let them drive themselves to hospital. Do not give food or drink.
This guide summarises first aid for the public and does not replace training or medical advice. In an emergency in the UAE call 998 for an ambulance.
Other life support and first aid courses: BLS Course · ACLS Course · PALS Course · Training calendar
Chest pressure or pain, pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back, breathlessness, sweating and nausea.
Women more often have breathlessness, nausea, back or jaw pain and tiredness without classic chest pain.
Only to a responsive adult who is not allergic, has no bleeding problem and has not been told to avoid it; call 998 first.
No. In cardiac arrest the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally and needs CPR.
No, call 998.
Reading helps; practising makes it automatic. The AHA Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED course at our Al Reem Island centre covers every emergency on this page with hands-on practice, and we train companies and schools on site across the UAE.
See first aid dates and register First aid course overview All first aid guides
What we teach follows the awarding body and the UAE health authorities. For the definitive position on a course or licensing question, these are the places to check.
Last reviewed by the training team at Safety First Medical Services, an American Heart Association training centre at Addax Office Tower, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi. Call +971 55 761 9841 or email training@safetyfirstmed.ae.