Helping someone with chest pain

You're with someone who has chest pain, or they've phoned you. This page is for you. You don't need any training. Staying calm and doing these simple things makes a real difference to what happens next.

First: get the ambulance coming

1. Dial 999. Ask for ambulance. Put the phone on speaker so your hands are free. If you're on the phone to the person and they're alone, tell them to hang up and call 999 themselves, or call it for them if you know exactly where they are.
2. Tell them where you are first. Full address or postcode. If you're outside, a road name, a landmark, or read out the what3words location if you have the app. Address comes before anything else, because if the call drops they can still send help.
3. Say: "I think they're having a heart attack." Then answer the questions. They'll ask if the person is conscious and breathing. Be honest. "I'm not sure" is a fine answer.
4. Don't hang up. The call handler stays on the line and will tell you what to do if things change. They will tell you where the nearest defibrillator is.

While you wait

Watch for these changes

Tell the call handler immediately if the person:

• becomes very drowsy, confused or hard to wake
• goes grey, blue-lipped or very pale and clammy
• starts breathing in gasps, or stops breathing
• collapses or becomes unresponsive

If they're drowsy but breathing: the recovery position

If the person is unresponsive but definitely breathing normally, put them on their side so they can't choke if they vomit.

1. Kneel beside them. Place the arm nearest you out at a right angle, elbow bent, palm up.
2. Bring their far arm across their chest and hold the back of their hand against the cheek nearest you.
3. With your other hand, pull up their far knee so the foot is flat on the floor.
4. Keeping their hand against their cheek, pull on the knee to roll them towards you onto their side.
5. Tilt the head back slightly to keep the airway open. Check they're still breathing every minute.

When the ambulance arrives

• Tell them the time the pain started, what it felt like, and anything that's happened since.
• Hand over the medication list and mention any allergies.
• Ask which hospital they're going to. It may not be the nearest one: chest pain often goes straight to a specialist heart centre.
• Don't try to follow the ambulance at speed. Get someone else to drive you, or go later.

Looking after yourself afterwards

Watching someone you care about have a heart attack is frightening, and doing CPR on someone is a genuinely traumatic thing to go through, whatever the outcome. It's normal to feel shaky, tearful or numb for days afterwards, and to replay it. Talk to someone. If it's still with you after a few weeks, speak to your GP. And if you did CPR: you gave them the best chance they could have had. Nobody does it perfectly. Doing it at all is what matters.