Recognizing Heart Attack, Stroke, Cardiac Arrest, and Sepsis Can Save Your Life — or Someone You Love

♥ Heart Attack Chest pressure, arm or jaw pain Call 911 immediately

◎ Stroke BE-FAST: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech Call 911 — time is brain

⚡ Cardiac Arrest Unresponsive, no normal breathing Call 911 & begin CPR

✦ Sepsis Fever, confusion, rapid breathing Seek emergency care now

Medical emergencies rarely announce themselves with clarity. A sudden headache, an unfamiliar pressure in the chest, a loved one who seems confused or unusually fatigued — these moments are easy to dismiss. In Mississippi, where rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes-related complications rank among the highest in the nation, that hesitation carries profound consequences. For the four most time-sensitive emergencies — heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest, and sepsis — recognition and rapid response are not supplementary to treatment. They are treatment.

The Mississippi Healthcare Alliance is committed to strengthening Systems of Care across the state and to equipping patients, families, and communities with the knowledge to act when it matters most. What follows is a concise, clinically grounded guide to the warning signs of each condition — and the immediate steps that save lives.

Heart Attack: Recognize Pressure, Act Immediately

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a portion of the heart muscle is blocked, typically by a clot in a coronary artery. Unlike cardiac arrest, the heart continues to beat during a heart attack — but every minute of continued blockage destroys muscle tissue. Prompt recognition and emergency response are essential to preserve cardiac function and prevent death.

Warning Signs

• Chest discomfort: pressure, tightness, squeezing, or pain lasting more than a few minutes, or that comes and goes
• Radiating discomfort: pain spreading to the arm (particularly the left), neck, jaw, back, or stomach
• Shortness of breath: with or without chest discomfort
• Additional symptoms: cold sweat, nausea, lightheadedness, or unusual fatigue — particularly in women

Women experiencing a heart attack are more likely to present without classic chest pain. Shortness of breath, jaw pain, and unexplained fatigue are common and frequently overlooked. Any combination of these symptoms warrants an immediate call to 911.

If you or someone near you experiences these symptoms, call 911 immediately. Do not drive to the hospital. Emergency medical services can initiate evaluation and treatment en route, and pre-notification allows the receiving facility to prepare — reducing the time to life-saving intervention.

Stroke: Time Is Brain — Use BE-FAST

Stroke occurs when blood supply to a portion of the brain is interrupted — either by a clot (ischemic stroke) or a ruptured blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). The brain loses approximately 1.9 million neurons for every minute a stroke goes untreated. Mississippi’s stroke mortality rate exceeds the national average, making community-level recognition of stroke symptoms a public health priority of the highest order.

The BE-FAST Protocol

• B — Balance: sudden loss of balance or coordination
• E — Eyes: sudden vision changes, blurred vision, or loss of vision in one or both eyes
• F — Face: facial drooping or uneven smile — ask the person to smile and observe asymmetry
• A — Arms: arm weakness or numbness — ask the person to raise both arms and watch for drift
• S — Speech: slurred, confused, or garbled speech — ask the person to repeat a simple phrase
• T — Time: call 911 immediately if any of these signs are present

 

Clot-dissolving therapy (tPA) must be administered within a narrow time window. Mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusions extends that window — but only for patients who reach an appropriate facility in time. Do not wait to see if symptoms resolve. Call 911.

Cardiac Arrest: Call 911 and Begin CPR

Cardiac arrest is not a heart attack. It is the sudden, abrupt cessation of effective heart function, causing the person to lose consciousness and stop breathing normally. Without immediate intervention, irreversible brain damage begins within four to six minutes. Cardiac arrest can affect individuals of any age and frequently occurs without prior warning.

Signs of Cardiac Arrest

• Sudden unresponsiveness: the person does not react to voice or touch
• Absent or abnormal breathing: no breathing, or gasping (agonal breathing), which is not normal respiration
• No pulse: though bystanders should not delay CPR to check for a pulse

If cardiac arrest is suspected, call 911 immediately and begin hands-only CPR: push hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. If an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is available, use it as soon as possible. Each minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by seven to ten percent. Bystander CPR is one of the most consequential actions any member of the public can take.

Sepsis: A Medical Emergency That Demands Immediate Action

Sepsis is the body’s life-threatening response to infection — a dysregulated immune reaction that can rapidly progress to organ failure and death. It is the leading cause of in-hospital mortality in the United States, responsible for more than 270,000 deaths annually. Sepsis can follow any infection: urinary tract infections, pneumonia, skin wounds, or post-surgical complications are common sources. The challenge is that early sepsis often resembles other illnesses, making community awareness critical.

Warning Signs

• Fever or abnormally low body temperature: with suspected or confirmed infection
• Rapid heart rate or breathing: beyond what the patient’s condition would typically produce
• Confusion or altered mental status: sudden disorientation or changes in behavior
• Extreme pain or discomfort: described by some patients as the worst they have ever felt
• Skin changes: pale, mottled, or clammy skin — or a rash developing alongside other symptoms

If you suspect sepsis — particularly in an elderly patient, an infant, or someone with a recent infection or surgical procedure — do not wait. Seek emergency care immediately and tell the clinical team: ‘I am concerned about sepsis.’ Early antibiotic therapy is the cornerstone of survival.

Access Life-Saving Resources Through the Mississippi Healthcare Alliance

Recognizing these symptoms is the first and most critical step in the chain of survival. The Mississippi Healthcare Alliance Patient Resource Page provides clear, clinically accurate information on heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest, and sepsis — designed to be understood quickly and shared broadly within families and communities across the state.

We encourage every Mississippian to visit our website, bookmark these resources, and share them with those they care about. A few minutes of preparation today can mean the difference between life and death in the moments that matter most.

Visit mississippihealthcarealliance.org to access our Patient Resource Page.