听力题
That''s how Shawn O''Neill looks back on the heart attack he experienced shortly after his 31st birthday.
"I thought I was in perfect health," Shawn says. "I was never sick. I woke up feeling good every morning."
Then on that fateful day in April 2002, he received a giant eye opener. He was working in his yard in Hixson and started having pain in his chest and arms. "I was pretty sure what it was, but I couldn''t believe it could be happening to me." The good news is that because Shawn recognized the symptoms and went immediately to Memorial North Park Hospital, he received the treatment he needed and the damage to his heart muscle was minimal.
"Advances in medicine make it possible for us to stop many heart attacks and keep people alive if they get to the hospital in time," says Dr. Kinsman Wright, medical director of Cardiac Services at Memorial. "We have technology to pinpoint blockage in the cardiac arteries and several options to open the vessels. And lifestyle changes and medications are helping people reduce their risk factors."
But Dr. Wright doesn''t see any decrease in heart disease. "With people living longer, we''re seeing different types of heart disease. We need to keep studying and fighting it on all fronts."