If you think you or someone you know is having a heart emergency, phone 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance.

What to do in a heart emergency

You or someone else has symptoms like:

central chest pain or discomfort in the chest that doesn't go away – it may feel like pressure, tightness or squeezing
pain that radiates down the left arm, or both arms, or to the neck, jaw, back or stomach
unconsciousness
seizures or fitting
difficulty breathing (snoring or rasping)
rapid heart beat
low or undetectable heart beat
blue or pale tingling of knees, hands and lips
chest pain and breathlessness, nausea, sweating or coughing up blood

What to do for a patient whilst waiting for an ambulance

Before an ambulance arrives, you can help paramedics by doing your best to follow this advice:

if you’re outside, stay with the patient until help arrives
phone 999 again if the patient’s condition worsens
phone 999 again if your location changes
if you’re phoning from home or work, ask someone to open the doors and tell ambulance staff where they're needed
stay calm - the Scottish Ambulance Service is there to help you

Heart emergencies include:

a heart attack
a cardiac arrest
an angina attack or unstable angina - this can be undiagnosed chest pain or a sudden worsening of existing angina

Phone 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance if you think you or someone else is experiencing any of these heart emergencies.

Once you've phoned 999, ask the patient to sit and rest until the ambulance arrives.
If the patient isn't allergic to aspirin and there's some nearby, they can chew 1 tablet (300mg).
Stay with the patient until the ambulance arrives.
When the paramedics arrive, tell them if the patient has taken aspirin.

Phone 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance if someone stops breathing, loses consciousness or doesn't respond to stimulation.
After you’ve phoned for an ambulance, the call handler will talk you through how to do chest compressions.
If there's more than one person with the patient, someone can collect a defibrillator for the patient if there's one nearby.

Tell the patient to stop what they're doing and sit down.
Ensure the patient takes one dose of their glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) spray or tablets. After doing this, wait 5 minutes.
If the pain or breathlessness continue, the patient should take a second dose of GTN. After this, wait another 5 minutes.
If the pain or breathlessness don't ease, phone 999.
If the patient isn't allergic to aspirin and there's some nearby, they can chew 1 tablet (300mg).
When the paramedics arrive, tell them if the patient has taken aspirin.

Last updated:
01 November 2022