Emergency NitroQuick for others?

"Owen Lowe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all. I routinely carry a small vial of 0.4mg nitroglycerine in my pocket - no matter where I
am. It occurred to me recently while on the treadmill at my fitness center that if the guy or gal
next to me went down and complained of the "classic" chest discomfort I might be able to help
alleviate heart damage by giving them a tablet of my Nitro - after 911 was called, of course. Is
this something to offer? Are there serious side affects for someone who turns out later to not
have suffered a heart incident? What if the person is unconscious? Or in need of CPR - a nitroQ
under the tongue and continue with the chest presses?

Ordinarily I'd never share prescription meds with anyone, but this seems a little different -
possibly life and death different?

I won't comment on giving it to someone else. I really don't know.

I think the first thing for yourself and others as far as medication in such a situation is to chew
an aspirin.

I've been told flat out by a cardiologist (not mine) that nitro does no good if you are having a
heart attack - i.e. it is only good for pain relief. I'm suspicious of this because 1. Even if it
does not relieve the blockage it may expand the collaterals thus reducing the damage. 2. One of the
first things they do when you go to the hospital with a suspected MI is put you on a nitro drip.

So I'd be interested in other views also.

Bill

"Owen Lowe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all. I routinely carry a small vial of 0.4mg nitroglycerine in my pocket - no matter where I
am. It occurred to me recently while on the treadmill at my fitness center that if the guy or gal
next to me went down and complained of the "classic" chest discomfort I might be able to help
alleviate heart damage by giving them a tablet of my Nitro - after 911 was called, of course. Is
this something to offer? Are there serious side affects for someone who turns out later to not
have suffered a heart incident? What if the person is unconscious? Or in need of CPR - a nitroQ
under the tongue and continue with the chest presses?

Ordinarily I'd never share prescription meds with anyone, but this seems a little different -
possibly life and death different?

First of all, carrying nitro in your pocket at the gym might not be such a good thing. It is heat
sensitive and doesn't last very long. While you are working out, I might set the container elsewhere
to prevent it from overheating.

Nitro only lasts a few minutes. It can cause a serious drop in blood pressure which is why it is
always a good idea to sit down or lie down after taking it. The main danger of this is falling.

If someone is unconscious or in need of CPR, I wouldn't give them a nitro. If they complained of
classic, crushing chest pain, it might very well help. However, I wonder if the Good Samaritan laws
would cover an unlicensed person giving someone prescription meds. I think you would be at serous
risk. I, personally, would not do it.

I don't know where you live. In my town, we have excellent EMS services. The average time from
calling 911 to having personnel on site is five minutes. The fire dept often shows up before they do
and they keep nitro in their little red boxes. Five minutes seems like a lifetime in such a
situation but if good CPR is administered, it isn't too long to wait.

j

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Owen Lowe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:noemail-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all. I routinely carry a small vial of 0.4mg nitroglycerine in my pocket - no matter where I
am. It occurred to me recently while on the treadmill at my fitness center that if the guy or
gal next to me went down and complained of the "classic" chest discomfort I might be able to
help alleviate heart damage by giving them a tablet of my Nitro - after 911 was called, of
course. Is this something to offer? Are there serious side affects for someone who turns out
later to not have suffered a heart incident? What if the person is unconscious? Or in need of
CPR - a nitroQ under the tongue and continue with the chest presses?

Ordinarily I'd never share prescription meds with anyone, but this seems a little different -
possibly life and death different?

I won't comment on giving it to someone else. I really don't know.

I think the first thing for yourself and others as far as medication in

such a

Quoted message said:

situation is to chew an aspirin.

I've been told flat out by a cardiologist (not mine) that nitro does no

good

Quoted message said:

if you are having a heart attack - i.e. it is only good for pain relief.

I'm

Quoted message said:

suspicious of this because 1. Even if it does not relieve the blockage it

may

Quoted message said:

expand the collaterals thus reducing the damage. 2. One of the first

things

Quoted message said:

they do when you go to the hospital with a suspected MI is put you on a

nitro

Quoted message said:

drip.

So I'd be interested in other views also.

Bill

I think what your cardiologist means is that nitro will help chest pain related to angina by
expanding the artery to allow for greater blood flow. It will not help once the artery is fully
occluded as in a heart attack. So, while you might experience relief with a 95 percent blockage, it
will not help a total occlusion.

j

Owen Lowe said:

Hi all. I routinely carry a small vial of 0.4mg nitroglycerine in my pocket - no matter where I
am. It occurred to me recently while on the treadmill at my fitness center that if the guy or gal
next to me went down and complained of the "classic" chest discomfort I might be able to help
alleviate heart damage by giving them a tablet of my Nitro - after 911 was called, of course. Is
this something to offer?

No.

Quoted message said:

Are there serious side affects for someone who turns out later to not have suffered a heart
incident?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

What if the person is unconscious? Or in need of CPR - a nitroQ under the tongue and continue with
the chest presses?

No.

Quoted message said:

Ordinarily I'd never share prescription meds with anyone, but this seems a little different -
possibly life and death different?

Nitroglycerin should only be administered per a doctor's instructions.

Servant to the humblest person in the universe,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
heartmdphd.comheartmdphd.comOpen ↗

**
Who is the humblest person in the universe?
makeashorterlink.commakeashorterlink.comOpen ↗

What is all this about?
makeashorterlink.commakeashorterlink.comOpen ↗

Is this spam?
makeashorterlink.commakeashorterlink.comOpen ↗

Owen Lowe said:

Hi all. I routinely carry a small vial of 0.4mg nitroglycerine in my pocket - no matter where I am.
It occurred to me recently while on the treadmill at my fitness center that if the guy or gal next
to me went down and complained of the "classic" chest discomfort I might be able to help alleviate
heart damage by giving them a tablet of my Nitro - after 911 was called, of course. Is this
something to offer? Are there serious side affects for someone who turns out later to not have
suffered a heart incident? What if the person is unconscious? Or in need of CPR - a nitroQ under
the tongue and continue with the chest presses?

Ordinarily I'd never share prescription meds with anyone, but this seems a little different -
possibly life and death different?

Owen,

Thank you for posting this query. I was just about to ask the same question myself. Following my
quad CAB a couple of years ago I have always carried a GTN spray with me. I have taken on board the
point made in Julianne's reply, concerning deterioration of GTN with elevated storage temperature.

Finally, Andrew Chung's unequivocal "No" is all th guidance that I need. Thank you Andrew.

Peter

Owen Lowe said:

Hi all. I routinely carry a small vial of 0.4mg nitroglycerine in my pocket - no matter where I
am. It occurred to me recently while on the treadmill at my fitness center that if the guy or gal
next to me went down and complained of the "classic" chest discomfort I might be able to help
alleviate heart damage by giving them a tablet of my Nitro - after 911 was called, of course. Is
this something to offer?

yes.

Quoted message said:

Are there serious side affects for someone who turns out later to not have suffered a heart
incident?

no. however, nitro carries the risk of causing hypotension since it dilates all arteries, not just
the coronary arteries. nitro will also relax smooth muscle in the esophagus, so it can alleviate
chest pain from esophageal spasm, and erroneously be interpreted as cardiogenic chest pain
alleviated with nitro.

Quoted message said:

What if the person is unconscious?

don't give it.

Quoted message said:

Or in need of CPR - a nitroQ under the tongue and continue with the chest presses?

the blood pressure is too low anyway, and nitro would make things worse.

Quoted message said:

Ordinarily I'd never share prescription meds with anyone, but this seems a little different -
possibly life and death different?

I don't think it would be a life or death situation, but one of saving cardiac muscle and minimizing
damage if indeed coronary flow is impaired acutely.

--
Winning against heart attack and stroke sonoscore.comsonoscore.comOpen ↗

In article <pln%b.2476$PY.155@lakeread05>,

Julianne said:

First of all, carrying nitro in your pocket at the gym might not be such a good thing. It is heat
sensitive and doesn't last very long. While you are working out, I might set the container
elsewhere to prevent it from overheating.

I usually take it out of my pocket for my running - even that little bottle seems to get annoying
after a while. I also toss the bottle after 6 months and replace it with a new one just for the
heat issue.

Quoted message said:

Nitro only lasts a few minutes. It can cause a serious drop in blood pressure which is why it is
always a good idea to sit down or lie down after taking it. The main danger of this is falling.

If someone is unconscious or in need of CPR, I wouldn't give them a nitro. If they complained of
classic, crushing chest pain, it might very well help. However, I wonder if the Good Samaritan
laws would cover an unlicensed person giving someone prescription meds. I think you would be at
serous risk. I, personally, would not do it.

Yes, on further thought, I think you're right in this regard.

Quoted message said:

I don't know where you live. In my town, we have excellent EMS services. The average time from
calling 911 to having personnel on site is five minutes. The fire dept often shows up before they
do and they keep nitro in their little red boxes. Five minutes seems like a lifetime in such a
situation but if good CPR is administered, it isn't too long to wait.

We seem to have excellent response times as well - plus the town's small and the hospital's fairly
centrally located.

Thanks Juliane for the thoughtful post - I believe I recall reading your posts on one of the diet
groups months back (you're a nurse, right? and you once posted about an obese patient who died from
lack of family caring?) - I always found your advice and commentary helpful and informative.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dr. Andrew B. Chung said:

Nitroglycerin should only be administered per a doctor's instructions.

I guess I thought as much, but just didn't know if the harm would be greater than the good for a
layperson to administer.

"Owen Lowe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <pln%b.2476$PY.155@lakeread05>,

Julianne said:

First of all, carrying nitro in your pocket at the gym might not be such

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

good thing. It is heat sensitive and doesn't last very long. While

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

are working out, I might set the container elsewhere to prevent it from overheating.

I usually take it out of my pocket for my running - even that little bottle seems to get annoying
after a while. I also toss the bottle after 6 months and replace it with a new one just for the
heat issue.

Quoted message said:

Nitro only lasts a few minutes. It can cause a serious drop in blood pressure which is why it is
always a good idea to sit down or lie down

after

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

taking it. The main danger of this is falling.

If someone is unconscious or in need of CPR, I wouldn't give them a

nitro.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If they complained of classic, crushing chest pain, it might very well

help.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

However, I wonder if the Good Samaritan laws would cover an unlicensed person giving someone
prescription meds. I think you would be at serous risk. I, personally, would not do it.

Yes, on further thought, I think you're right in this regard.

Quoted message said:

I don't know where you live. In my town, we have excellent EMS

services.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The average time from calling 911 to having personnel on site is five minutes. The fire dept
often shows up before they do and they keep

nitro in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

their little red boxes. Five minutes seems like a lifetime in such a situation but if good CPR
is administered, it isn't too long to wait.

We seem to have excellent response times as well - plus the town's small and the hospital's fairly
centrally located.

Thanks Juliane for the thoughtful post - I believe I recall reading your posts on one of the diet
groups months back (you're a nurse, right? and you once posted about an obese patient who died
from lack of family caring?) - I always found your advice and commentary helpful and informative.

You're welcome. Thank you for the kind words!

j