Every year, more than one million Americans have heart attacks. Forty percent die as a result. And nearly half of those deaths occur within an hour of the onset of symptoms.

While the statistics are frightening, there are things you and your caregivers can do to help prevent a fatal heart attack—both before one occurs and immediately afterward. Here are some steps you can take protect your heart, and your life.

• Know your risk factors, and strive to reduce your risk. If you smoke, are overweight, don't get enough exercise, or have uncontrolled high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, you are at greater risk for heart attack. Taking action to eliminate or reduce these risk factors can greatly improve your heart health. (For online tools to help you assess your personal risk factors, visit Duke Heart Center.)
• Learn to recognize heart attack symptoms. Heart attacks often present themselves subtly, most often as chest pain or discomfort. This can be accompanied by:
  • Discomfort or pain going to the neck, back, jaw, arms, or shoulders
  • Numbness or tingling in one or both arms
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Shortness of breath
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Sweating
  • Weakness, dizziness, or passing out
  • Indigestion (heartburn)
  These symptoms may be constant, or come and go.
• Know that women often experience heart attacks differently than men. Although the most typical warning sign of a heart attack is chest pain that travels to or begins in the neck, jaw, or arms, the less obvious symptoms noted above (such as indigestion or heartburn, nausea, shortness of breath, profuse sweating, lightheadedness, and/or extreme fatigue) are more common in women.
• If you experience heart attack symptoms, IMMEDIATELY call 9-1-1. While there are treatments that can halt a heart attack in progress, timing is everything. For example, thrombolytic (clot-busting) drugs can dissolve artery-clogging clots, but for maximum effectiveness they should be taken within 60 minutes after you first notice heart attack symptoms. Unfortunately, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, most heart attack victims wait at least two hours before seeking medical attention, which can result in extensive heart damage or even death. Even if you aren't certain it really IS a heart attack, don't "wait and see"—take action to get professional help.

After all, it's your heart we're talking about—your heart, and everybody in it.