My dad just had a heart attack. What do we do now?

Your first job: the next 48 hours

Right now you are the person who holds the information, so start there. The team moves fast on a heart attack, and a few small things from you change how well it goes.

• Bring his medication list, or just the pill bottles in a bag. What he takes, especially any blood thinner, shapes which treatments are safe.
• Tell the team who he was last week. Active? Living alone? Any chest symptoms building up? That guides their decisions.
• Pick one family point person for the team. Everyone else gets updates from that person.
• Ask two questions: "Was this a STEMI or an NSTEMI?" and "What's the plan to treat the blockage, and why is that the right fit for him?"

Why the type matters. A STEMI is a fully blocked artery, treated as an open-it-now emergency, usually with an angioplasty and stent (they thread a tube through an artery, open the blockage, and prop it with a small mesh tube). The goal is fast: often a stent within about 90 minutes of arrival, because "time is muscle." An NSTEMI is a partial blockage, still serious but usually handled on a more measured timeline. Some patients need bypass surgery, and nearly everyone goes on heart medications. If the first blood test looks normal, don't be surprised that they keep him for repeat draws: the marker they measure (troponin) takes hours to rise.

In the hospital: things to consider

A stent procedure takes an hour or so, done through a small nick in the wrist or groin; bypass surgery is bigger and means a longer stay. Either way, the usual pattern is close heart-rhythm monitoring at first, then getting up and moving within a day or two as he stabilizes.

One thing families often notice before staff do: delirium, a sudden, fluctuating confusion that affects roughly one in four hospitalized older adults. It often looks quiet: sleepy, withdrawn, "not himself," worse in the evening. It's usually temporary. Familiar things seem to help (glasses on, hearing aids in, a familiar face, a clock in view), and you can tell the nurse when he seems off, since you know his baseline and they don't.

Before he leaves, get these

• A written med list you've personally compared against his old one. About four in ten heart patients leave with at least one medication error, and mix-ups drive readmission.
• A clear statement of what he can do (lifting, stairs, and when he can drive again, which their team decides).
• A cardiac rehab referral. This is the recovery step most people never start, and starting matters, so ask who is arranging it and when the first session is.

Coming home, and the months ahead

The hospital part is short. Recovery is the long game, and this is where your role really is. Here's the job, as a checklist.

Set up the home first

• Plan for a quiet first week or two: rest with short walks, easy meals stocked, and a bed and bathroom reachable without stairs if he is weak at first.
• A simple pill organizer and one written schedule, kept where the family can see it. New heart medicines are easy to muddle in the first weeks.
• Learn the warning signs of another heart attack (below), and it's worth the family learning hands-only CPR.

Sort the paperwork (while he still has capacity)

• A healthcare proxy, a financial power of attorney, and a HIPAA authorization naming you (free forms: AARP, CaringInfo). HIPAA lets doctors talk to family, but being named in writing removes any doubt.
• Keep those, the discharge papers, and his records in one place the family can reach. That's what Greenlue holds, so there's no binder to carry around.

Know what to watch for

Here's how the American Heart Association describes the warning signs of a heart attack, the thing to act on fast if it happens again:

These are the AHA's general warning signs, and women more often have nausea, jaw or back pain, or unusual fatigue. His care team may give you a list specific to him, so go by what they tell you, and call 911 for any emergency.

His recovery, day to day

• Cardiac rehab is the centerpiece. It's a supervised program of monitored exercise, education, and support, usually about 36 sessions over roughly 12 weeks, starting one to three weeks after discharge. It's one of the best-proven ways to lower the odds of another heart attack, yet only about one in three people who qualify go, and every week of delay makes it less likely. Getting him there is the highest-value thing you can do.
• Keep the medications going. Within three months, many people quietly drop their statin or heart pills. Those medicines (typically a statin, blood thinners, a beta-blocker, and often a blood-pressure pill) are what prevent the next event, so refills and a steady routine matter more than almost anything.
• Keep every cardiology and primary-care follow-up, and ask his team what eating pattern and activity are right for him rather than guessing.
• Watch mood. About one in five people get depressed after a heart attack, it's easy to miss, and it drags down recovery, so mention low mood or fear early. Rehab helps here too.

What he'll need from you, and protecting yourself

• Rides to rehab and appointments, keeping meds straight, heart-friendly meals, and steady encouragement.
• Visiting: you don't have to be there every minute, but presence matters, especially early. Pick a rhythm you can sustain.
• Split roles with siblings: one on the medical side, one on paperwork, a shared calendar.
• Use FMLA if you work (up to 12 weeks, job-protected, and you can take it a few hours at a time for rehab rides), and treat your own sleep as part of his care plan.

Nearly all of it is coordination

Which is exactly what Greenlue carries with you:

Common questions