Heart attack....best hospital..?

[elektrified]

1. Call 1669 if you need to get to the hospital quickly. The EMS guys (and gals) are amazing. Some are VERY well trained both here and in foreign countries. Some are less trained but they will get you to the closest hospital quickly unless you tell them somewhere else you wish to go.

 

2. It's 191, not 911. That number gets you the police. No need to call them.

 

3. Nakhorping Hospital would also be another good choice if you are having a heart attack in the middle of the night and live out Mae Rim or Sansai way. They have many skilled specialists 24/7. Many of the specialists there including cardiologists have very nice private clinics and see many patients when they are not practicing there or at private hospitals.

 

4. Yes, good advice....if you think you or a loved one is having a heart attack, get them to chew on a couple of Aspirin while you wait for the ambulance. It could save their life.

[tropo]

3 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

Got to admit this is not my idea of a fun day, planning where to have a heart attack. Are you expecting to have one?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

Get real! It's the number one killer in developed countries, so getting one is hardly a long shot. For example, heart disease accounts for about 1 in 7 deaths in the US... about 375,000 people a year. Here's another interesting stat: About 735,000 people in the US have heart attacks each year, of which 120,000 die.

 

It would be interesting to see how those stats would look if you only counted the over 50 population which lived more than an hour away from emergency medical care.

 

It's not a bad idea to prepare for one, especially if you don't take much care of your health.

Edited November 16, 2017 by tropo

[Anythingleft?]

Okay, except that this is a developing country not developed so your statistics don't reflect anything useful.
As your last paragraph states maybe taking care of yourself a little better would be the first line of defence in this and many other health situations.
My personal thoughts are that we can worry about everything that "may" happen and forget to live today, it was more a light hearted comment not meant to aggravate anybody.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[NancyL]

58 minutes ago, elektrified said:

1. Call 1669 if you need to get to the hospital quickly. The EMS guys (and gals) are amazing. Some are VERY well trained both here and in foreign countries. Some are less trained but they will get you to the closest hospital quickly unless you tell them somewhere else you wish to go.

 

2. It's 191, not 911. That number gets you the police. No need to call them.

 

3. Nakhorping Hospital would also be another good choice if you are having a heart attack in the middle of the night and live out Mae Rim or Sansai way. They have many skilled specialists 24/7. Many of the specialists there including cardiologists have very nice private clinics and see many patients when they are not practicing there or at private hospitals.

 

4. Yes, good advice....if you think you or a loved one is having a heart attack, get them to chew on a couple of Aspirin while you wait for the ambulance. It could save their life.

Yes, Nakorn Ping hospital did right for a friend who felt a heart attack coming on one evening when he was out driving and not far from that hospital.  They had him in for an angioplasty within an 45 minutes of arrival.  Very reasonably priced, too.

[NancyL]

40 minutes ago, Anythingleft? said:

Okay, except that this is a developing country not developed so your statistics don't reflect anything useful.
As your last paragraph states maybe taking care of yourself a little better would be the first line of defence in this and many other health situations.
My personal thoughts are that we can worry about everything that "may" happen and forget to live today, it was more a light hearted comment not meant to aggravate anybody.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

Actually this is now considered an upper-middle income country, making remarkable progress in less than four decades, according to the World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand  If you don't believe me, just show up for the cardiac outpatient clinic days at Suan Dok hospital and see how the place is heaving with Thai patients, most look to be in the early sixties and above.  

 

And when you consider that many of the users of ThaiVisa forum are older white men, then planning for a heart attack is definitely a worthwhile activity.

 

One way to both plan and take better care of yourself would be to have a health care check-up at one of the hospitals mentioned -- Bangkok Hospital, Chiang Mai Ram, Sripat.  That way, you may learn if you should adjust your diet, lose weight, cut back on alcohol to improve "your numbers" of cholestrol, blood pressure and blood sugar.  Also, your "numbers" will be on file with your chosen hospital, so that if you're brought in by ambulance during a crisis, then the hospital will have records of what you were like when you were "healthy". 

[KiChakayan]

20 minutes ago, NancyL said:

you should adjust your diet, lose weight, cut back on alcohol to improve "your numbers" 

Yeah, I don't like my "numbers". Thinking of an enlargement operation. Another Thai "hub".

[csabo]

What do you think a hospital will do? I never heard anyone say "I was having a heart attack but I ran across the street to the hospital and they stopped it." 

[csabo]

4 hours ago, NancyL said:

Yes, Nakorn Ping hospital did right for a friend who felt a heart attack coming on one evening when he was out driving and not far from that hospital.  They had him in for an angioplasty within an 45 minutes of arrival.  Very reasonably priced, too.

Why didn't his annual echocardiogram catch the blockage? 

[simoh1490]

5 hours ago, irwinfc said:

Chiangmai Ram Hospital

RAM is short for Ramkhamhaeng which is the name of the group that owns the hospital.

[tropo]

5 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

Okay, except that this is a developing country not developed so your statistics don't reflect anything useful.
As your last paragraph states maybe taking care of yourself a little better would be the first line of defence in this and many other health situations.
My personal thoughts are that we can worry about everything that "may" happen and forget to live today, it was more a light hearted comment not meant to aggravate anybody.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

2

Stats in the US are quite relevant in Thailand as they present the best possible scenario. The situation here is far worse... mainly due to inferior medical facilities and in particular, less efficient emergency services resulting in it taking longer to get to a hospital and worse care along the way. When people have accidents here they are often thrown onto the back of a pickup truck. 

 

A person who suffers a heart attack in Thailand is less likely to survive. It's also quite likely that, with poorer nutritional options available, that a heart won't do as well here.

 

You DON'T have to stop enjoying life just because you want to know what to do to give you the best chance of survival if you suffer a heart attack. Many of us are more concerned about our young partners (and families) who would be left behind if we die, so taking a bit more care of ourselves is justified. If you only have yourself to worry about you're probably not going to be as concerned about your demise.

[themerg]

I like and go to Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai, service is fast and efficient for my 3 minor visits. My second choice is Chiang Mai Ram.

Both are clean hospitals. I worked in hospital housekeeping in USA, clean is important.

[Jeffkp]

11 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

Just to add:

 

I know that RAM, Maharaj/Suandok and Sirphat have cardiac catheter labs., I suspect Bangkok Hosptial does also, smaller hospitals and some state hospitals will probably not. The cath. Lab. is essential in performing angioplasty to unblock cardiac artery blockages.

Two years ago I went to Cardiac Catheter lab at RAM. The machine broke down (after laying on a very uncomfortable table for 45 mins). The cardiologist offered to have me moved to Bangkok hospital for the procedure or I could wait three days.

His nurse told me the hospital would not charge me anything for that day and then presented a bill for 5000 Bhat. 

Now I use Bangkok Hospital. Excellent service and facilities. However very expensive.

[simoh1490]

8 minutes ago, Jeffkp said:

Two years ago I went to Cardiac Catheter lab at RAM. The machine broke down (after laying on a very uncomfortable table for 45 mins). The cardiologist offered to have me moved to Bangkok hospital for the procedure or I could wait three days.

His nurse told me the hospital would not charge me anything for that day and then presented a bill for 5000 Bhat. 

Now I use Bangkok Hospital. Excellent service and facilities. However very expensive.

Equipment malfunctions from time to time, it can't be helped. For me however, Dr Patarapong at RAM is one of the best cardiologists in the North, he's been inside my heart three times and is always efficient and has a good bedside manner. FWIW all cath lab tables are the same way, as uncomfortable as sin, I suspect it has something to do with the functioning of the fluoroscope. More trivia: it used to be the case that Dr Pat. as he likes to be called was designated as the cardiologist to go to in SE Asia for all Qantas staff hence his reputation extends further than just CM.

[simoh1490]

I have to come back to coughing CPR as it's known.

 

I'd never looked at the evidence before today but I have now looked at a whole series of articles on this subject. It looks as though the original concept came from doctors in Poland who noticed that coughing increased blood flow to the brain, the technique was further cited as evidence since angioplasty patients are asked to cough whilst undergoing balloon and stent treatment.

 

It then looks as though the whole notion of coughing CPR got heavily promoted on the internet as an alternate means of cardiac first aid and spiralled out of control, as alternative medicine topics often do. Thereafter, various bodies and cardiology councils in several countries took a view on the subject and posted position statements saying that cardiac CPR is not recommended, nor is there evidence it is beneficial as a first aid technique in most cases.

 

I seems the original statement made by the Polish doctors on this subject was taken out of context and blown out of proportion, it was intended to suggest that for some people, coughing CPR could be beneficial if they were alone and there were no other options or whilst waiting for help to arrive and that doesn't seem unreasonable. The idea that it could be considered as first-line first aid is very wrong, it is a measure of last resort. As already suggested by others, a first line technique would be to chew on 350/500 mg of aspirin whilst waiting for help to arrive.

 

[NancyL]

4 hours ago, csabo said:

Why didn't his annual echocardiogram catch the blockage? 

I don't think my friend was getting annual an annual physical exam.  Even so, having just an an echocardiogram alone may not be a predictor.  Above a certain age, someone should be doing a "stress echo" where they work their heart by walking and then running on a treadmill until either their pulse rate or blood pressure reach a set limit or the test subject calls off the test because they simply can't get enough air.  Then they quickly do the echocardiogram and see how the heart is functioning under this type of stress.  Also, someone needs blood tests to look to see if blood sugar and cholestrol are kept under control.  

 

 

[NancyL]

5 hours ago, csabo said:

What do you think a hospital will do? I never heard anyone say "I was having a heart attack but I ran across the street to the hospital and they stopped it." 

Actually, getting into a hospital in the middle of a heart attack can do someone quite much good.  They can give medication to help control the heart attack and get someone into an operating theater to do an angioplasty pronto.  That's what happened to my friend who went to Nakorn Ping hospital.  He'd never been to that hospital before, but happened to be near there when he was driving and realized what he was experiencing was a heart attack.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

People, including you, should read your link and others on this subject before suggesting it is not true, yours says,

 

 “cough CPR” is not useful for unresponsive victims", but goes on to say,

 

" During a sudden arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), it may be possible for a conscious, responsive person to cough forcefully and repetitively to maintain enough blood flow to the brain to remain conscious for a few seconds until the arrhythmia is treated. Blood flow is maintained by increased pressure in the chest that occurs during forceful coughs". 

to remain conscious for a few seconds until the arrhythmia is treated

Soooooooo, of only any use if having a heart attack in a hospital ER or ICU.

 

Seriously, if one were actually having a heart attack severe enough to kill one, I would expect the last thing one would be remembering to do would be to cough a lot.

Also, if one were expecting to have a heart attack, I'd suggest that the hospital one would be wanting to go to would be one in one's own country. I say that having been treated for an accident in a private hospital in LOS.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, NancyL said:

Actually, getting into a hospital in the middle of a heart attack can do someone quite much good.  They can give medication to help control the heart attack and get someone into an operating theater to do an angioplasty pronto.  That's what happened to my friend who went to Nakorn Ping hospital.  He'd never been to that hospital before, but happened to be near there when he was driving and realized what he was experiencing was a heart attack.

No argument there, but that's assuming there is an empty operating theatre and staff that can treat the cause available. Sounds to me like your friend was just fortunate.

I'm no expert, but I believe just being put on O2 is a critical aspect of survival. I am led to understand that some ambulances in LOS do not have any O2 ( or anything else ) on board.

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

to remain conscious for a few seconds until the arrhythmia is treated

Soooooooo, of only any use if having a heart attack in a hospital ER or ICU.

 

Seriously, if one were actually having a heart attack severe enough to kill one, I would expect the last thing one would be remembering to do would be to cough a lot.

Also, if one were expecting to have a heart attack, I'd suggest that the hospital one would be wanting to go to would be one in one's own country. I say that having been treated for an accident in a private hospital in LOS.

Please read my post 44 on the first part.

 

On the second part: I also have been treated for various things in private hospitals in Thailand and have had one operation and one major procedure performed here. Given a choice I would prefer to be treated for any condition at the Johns Hopkins in Maryland, in the absence of being allowed that choice I'm very comfortable and confident being treated at selected private hospitals in Thailand.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Please read my post 44 on the first part.

 

On the second part: I also have been treated for various things in private hospitals in Thailand and have had one operation and one major procedure performed here. Given a choice I would prefer to be treated for any condition at the Johns Hopkins in Maryland, in the absence of being allowed that choice I'm very comfortable and confident being treated at selected private hospitals in Thailand.

OK, read it, but you don't seem to be advocating it as a serious method of treatment, and when I did my first aid course, chewing an asprin was not even mentioned as a treatment in emergency. Even finding an asprin now isn't that easy- I don't have any given Panadol does the same job without the potential harmful side effects of asprin.

IMO, in LOS either the heart attack is going to kill one unless in ER within minutes, or it isn't serious. I wouldn't be counting on an ambulance to be saving me with what they have on board, and the traffic jams could be the critical factor.

I've always wondered why in Bkk they don't have heli pads on the high rises and an air ambulance, given its notorious traffic problems.

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

OK, read it, but you don't seem to be advocating it as a serious method of treatment, and when I did my first aid course, chewing an asprin was not even mentioned as a treatment in emergency. Even finding an asprin now isn't that easy- I don't have any given Panadol does the same job without the potential harmful side effects of asprin.

IMO, in LOS either the heart attack is going to kill one unless in ER within minutes, or it isn't serious. I wouldn't be counting on an ambulance to be saving me with what they have on board, and the traffic jams could be the critical factor.

I've always wondered why in Bkk they don't have heli pads on the high rises and an air ambulance, given its notorious traffic problems.

I don't think it's as black and white as you make out, there's a large middle ground where the heart attack is very serious but you don't die immediately, in those cases heart muscle dies and brain function can become limited.

 

Asprin has long been touted as a first line defence, it helps prevent the blood from clotting which is why cardiac stent patients such as myself take aspirin daily, as a precautionary measure - agreed, however, trying to find 500 mg aspirin is like looking for hens teeth. Note: Panadol is not the same in this instance, it must be asprin or a product from that family.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I don't think it's as black and white as you make out, there's a large middle ground where the heart attack is very serious but you don't die immediately, in those cases heart muscle dies and brain function can become limited.

 

Asprin has long been touted as a first line defence, it helps prevent the blood from clotting which is why cardiac stent patients such as myself take aspirin daily, as a precautionary measure - agreed, however, trying to find 500 mg aspirin is like looking for hens teeth. Note: Panadol is not the same in this instance, it must be asprin or a product from that family.

Sorry, but perhaps I wasn't clear.

Either an heart attack is serious as in one is going to die or have major post attack symptoms without treatment within a small time window, or one is going to survive anyway.

I wasn't referring to asprin used a a prophylactic treatment when one can get it from a hospital pharmacy, but to the suggestion of using it when a heart attack happens and one is not near a hospital.

BTW, what everyone should remember in the event of any problem potentially serious enough to require surgery is not to eat or drink, as it might delay surgery once one does reach hospital.

[hgma]

My life was saved by an hospital that many would classify as nice looking, pricey but below standard, a young female doctor conducted tests and dug in deep for a reason only known to her............next thing i knew i was on ICU Bangkok Hospital 50 km from my hometown.

I wish i had the change to say thank you doc, but she was already moving by the time i came home from heart surgery in Khon Kaen.

Pearl in a man's life!

 

[elektrified]

50 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

OK, read it, but you don't seem to be advocating it as a serious method of treatment, and when I did my first aid course, chewing an asprin was not even mentioned as a treatment in emergency. Even finding an asprin now isn't that easy- I don't have any given Panadol does the same job without the potential harmful side effects of asprin.

IMO, in LOS either the heart attack is going to kill one unless in ER within minutes, or it isn't serious. I wouldn't be counting on an ambulance to be saving me with what they have on board, and the traffic jams could be the critical factor.

I've always wondered why in Bkk they don't have heli pads on the high rises and an air ambulance, given its notorious traffic problems.

Come on.......Aspirin (ASA) is the most common drug in the world and can be found in any pharmacy in the world.

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, elektrified said:

Come on.......Aspirin (ASA) is the most common drug in the world and can be found in any pharmacy in the world.

Anything greater than 81 mg Asprin (ASPENT) is very very hard to find in Thailand any more.

[ThaiPauly]

11 hours ago, NancyL said:

Actually this is now considered an upper-middle income country, making remarkable progress in less than four decades, according to the World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand  If you don't believe me, just show up for the cardiac outpatient clinic days at Suan Dok hospital and see how the place is heaving with Thai patients, most look to be in the early sixties and above.  

 

And when you consider that many of the users of ThaiVisa forum are older white men, then planning for a heart attack is definitely a worthwhile activity.

 

One way to both plan and take better care of yourself would be to have a health care check-up at one of the hospitals mentioned -- Bangkok Hospital, Chiang Mai Ram, Sripat.  That way, you may learn if you should adjust your diet, lose weight, cut back on alcohol to improve "your numbers" of cholestrol, blood pressure and blood sugar.  Also, your "numbers" will be on file with your chosen hospital, so that if you're brought in by ambulance during a crisis, then the hospital will have records of what you were like when you were "healthy". 

Or if you prefer your GP. Dr.Morgan at Health Care Medical Clinic does my once a year check -ups

[MrBrad]

If you haven't already, it would certainly be a good idea in most cases to make sure that the rescue service at your preferred hospital--or a number of hospitals--knows exactly how to find your house.  Many areas of Chiang Mai are a tangled maze, and the last thing I want is an ambulance driving up and down dead end sois trying to find me when I need help.

 

Bangkok Hospital is very accommodating on this matter.  They look up your house on Google maps, and save a few photos in your electronic file in their computers.  I hope I never need them to come after me, but if I do, I want them to get to me without undue complications, assuming that I'm at home when I need them.

 

Also, put their emergency phone number in your contacts list on your phone.  I listed them as "1 Bangkok Hospital" with the "1" making their number appear first on my contacts list.  For their rescue service the number is "1719."

 

A stitch in time saves nine.

Edited November 17, 2017 by MrBrad
phone number

[elektrified]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

Anything greater than 81 mg Asprin (ASPENT) is very very hard to find in Thailand any more.

It can be found everywhere.

[elektrified]

28 minutes ago, MrBrad said:

If you haven't already, it would certainly be a good idea in most cases to make sure that the rescue service at your preferred hospital--or a number of hospitals--knows exactly how to find your house.  Many areas of Chiang Mai are a tangled maze, and the last thing I want is an ambulance driving up and down dead end sois trying to find me when I need help.

 

Bangkok Hospital is very accommodating on this matter.  They look up your house on Google maps, and save a few photos in your electronic file in their computers.  I hope I never need them to come after me, but if I do, I want them to get to me without undue complications, assuming that I'm at home when I need them.

 

Also, put their emergency phone number in your contacts list on your phone.  I listed them as "1 Bangkok Hospital" with the "1" making their number appear first on my contacts list.  For their rescue service the number is "1719."

 

A stitch in time saves nine.

You can also download a mobile app that automatically contacts 1669 when you push the SOS button and engage both WiFi and "mobile data" for best triangulation.  They will figure out where you are - but yes you are correct, for instance where we live is wrong on google maps and using the navigation software, one would never find our place as it is way off.

[irwinfc]

11 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

RAM is short for Ramkhamhaeng which is the name of the group that owns the hospital.

while Chiangmai Ram Hospital is indeed part of the Ramkhamhaeng group, it identifies itself as Chiangmai Ram Hospital. the hospital's facade shows it in both english and thai, on their website, facebook page, etc. perhaps a moot point to correct, just for the sake of accuracy.