The sudden death of actress Natasha Richardson shocked a lot of people. It should serve as a warning that even mild symptoms can signal potentially fatal problems.
She suffered a severe headache within hours of her skiing accident, which signaled brain injury and bleeding within the brain. Like most of us with a headache, she didn’t think it was bad enough to see a doctor. When she finally did … well, she was gone in just a couple of days.
These are some symptoms that should send you instantly to the ER:
· A sudden horrendous headache could be due to an aneurysm.
· If the headache is accompanied by stiffness of the neck, it might be meningitis.
· Confusion, slurred speech, numbness and paralysis are signs of a stroke.
· Chest pain plus pain in the jaw, left arm and/or shoulder, neck, back, nausea, indigestion, cold sweat, rapid or irregular heart beat, and weakness or anxiety is probably a heart attack in a man. Often anxiety is the first sign – just a funny feeling that something is not right. Call 911 immediately. Treatment within the first hour is crucial, before significant damage can occur to the heart muscle.
· A woman’s heart attack is different from a man’s. The most frequently reported symptoms are unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, indigestion and anxiety. Most women reported at least one of these for more than a month before the heart attack. Roughly only a third of women with heart attacks reported chest pain, described as pressure, burning, fullness, tingling, sharpness, or an aching tightness. As above, call 911 at once!
· Shortness of breath can also mean heart failure. It’s natural to pant after running a couple of blocks but if you gasp while sitting or lying down, see your doctor. Some other causes of hyperventilation are anxiety, asthma, or a blood clot in the lungs.
· Intense stomach pain could just be gas. If it persists or gets worse, it could be your appendix. Don’t wait for it to rupture, which could happen within 48 hours. Get to the ER fast; life-threatening infection can result from a ruptured appendix.
· Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are probably a sign of food poisoning. Again, see a doctor right away.
