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Dramatic TV heart attacks 'risking lives'

04/08/2008

Dramatic, chest-clutching heart attacks shown on television shows and films are putting lives at risk, a charity has warned.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) claimed that heart attacks on screen often show the actor collapsing and grabbing their chest in extreme pain.

But the symptoms can be more subtle and easier to ignore.

A survey by the BHF found that one in five people are unaware of these symptoms and nearly four in ten people (38 per cent) take their advice from what they have seen on TV and in movies.

Betty McBride, director of policy and communications at the BHF, said: "We need to get the message out there that heart attacks on the silver screen and TV aren't what people usually experience."

The symptoms of a heart attack can range from a severe pain in the centre of the chest to having mild chest discomfort that makes you feel generally unwell.

The pain often feels like a heaviness or tightness which may also spread to the arms, neck, jaw, back or stomach.

The BHF will attempt to dispel the commonly held myths of the 'Hollywood' heart attack through its film, Watch Your Own Heart Attack, which will be screened on ITV1 on August 10th at 21:17 BST.