CDC: Half of heart disease deaths happen before patients get to hospital

ATLANTA - About half of all deaths from heart disease happen before the patient can even get to a hospital, the government reported in a study health officials called alarming. <br> <br> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the study, timed for release on Valentine&#39;s Day, shows the need for a new push nationwide to recognize the early warning signs of heart attacks. <br> <br> Heart disease is the nation&#39;s leading cause of death. <br> <br> The study examined the 729,000 heart disease deaths reported in the United States in 1999. About 47 percent were sudden deaths that happened before the patient could get to a hospital, the CDC said. <br> <br> In another 17 percent of heart disease deaths, the patient was dead on arrival or died in the emergency room. <br> <br> ``These high numbers of sudden deaths from heart disease, and the fact that they occur outside of the hospital, are alarming,&#39;&#39; CDC director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan said. <br> <br> Sudden cardiac deaths remain high despite years of advances in prevention and treatment, and improvements in emergency medical response. The CDC said many people still don&#39;t recognize early signs of heart failure. <br> <br> Those include cold sweat, nausea, lightheadedness and shortness of breath, in addition to pain in the chest, arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach. <br> <br> And people can reduce their risk years in advance by eating low-fat foods, staying active and not smoking. <br> <br> Dr. Douglas Zipes, president of the American College of Cardiology, said the study also shows the need to train more people in CPR and make external defibrillators more available. <br> <br> Women were more likely to die quickly of cardiac arrest, with 52 percent of their heart disease deaths happening before they could reach a hospital. The figure for men was 42 percent. <br> <br> And the risk of quick heart-disease death appeared to increase with age. For people 85 and older, 61 percent of the deaths happened too soon to get to a hospital. <br> <br> Altogether, cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attacks, stroke and high blood pressure, kills about 1 million Americans a year.