Awareness Of Heart Attack Symptoms and Action Toward It Among General Population In Saudi Arabia: A Cross Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

To assess the level of awareness of heart attack (HA) symptoms and action toward it among the general population in Saudi Arabia. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia from September to December 2021. The total number of participants is 10044, individuals who met our criteria (N = 9,536) was selected as study participants, who were residents in Saudi Arabia, aged 18 years and older. An online questionnaire included questions about demographic characteristics, knowledge and awareness of heart attack symptoms and action toward it was distributed through social media. Then, data were entered into the excel sheet, then into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for analysis. Knowledge of the participants about HA warning symptoms; only (3.2%) knew the seven symptoms of HA while (24.9%) of respondents only knew one symptom. Regarding the knowledge of the first action towards heart attack; (44.3%) stated that the first action is to call an ambulance. The correct ambulance service number was identified by (53.04%) of respondents. The findings revealed good awareness of the typical HA symptoms only. Generally, participants had poor awareness of recognizing all alarming HA symptoms and appropriate action toward it. Further educational efforts to the community are required to raise awareness, avoid pre-hospital delay, and reducing the mortality rate.

Keywords: Knowledge, awareness, cardiovascular diseases, heart attack, Saudi Arabia.