For those who suffer a heart attack, receiving treatment within one hour increases the chances of survival. Unfortunately, most are not admitted to the hospital until 2.5 to 3 hours after their symptoms arise. This delay in seeking treatment may be largely due to a lack of knowledge as indicated by a new report. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing administered a true-false test to more than 3,500 patients in the US, Australia and New Zealand who had previously suffered a heart attack or had undergone procedures for heart disease. Sadly, 44 percent scored poorly on their ability to identify symptoms of a heart attack. This may help explain why previous studies have found those who have previously suffered a heart attack and suffer a subsequent attack do not seek help any faster than those who have never suffered a heart attack in the past. It's extremely important to be able to identify the potential symptoms of a pending heart attack, especially for those who have heart disease, those who have suffered a previous heart attack and those over the age of 50.

According to the American Heart Association's website (http://www.americanheart.org):

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness"