WASHINGTON – Sylvia Hoskins left work one day last fall, not feeling well. But a song with a catchy beat got her thinking about the pain she was experiencing.
“Right underneath my jawbone, shortness of breath, cold sweats, nausea, tiredness, stomach pain and back pain,” the Virginia resident recounts. “I started counting off the number of ways my symptoms matched that song.”
So instead of driving home, she drove to a medical emergency center and was hospitalized for a heart attack. Hoskins had two blocked arteries and surgery to repair them.
Hoskins is now back at work and feeling fine all because of the song, which was a public service announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reminding women of their unique heart attack symptoms.
“I heard the song a number of times being played as a public service announcement on WTOP at night,” she says.
She urges women to commit the song to memory and to listen to their bodies because the song that gets stuck in your head could save your heart.
Listen to the full PSA and follow along with the lyrics below
␎
CHORUS:
If you know the symptoms and get the facts You’ll know the signs of a heart attack. Women, listen to me and when I’m done If it sounds familiar, call 911Pain in your chest, neck, arms or jaw Shortness of breath, please tell us more Cold sweats and nausea, tiredness it’s time to take it serious.
SINGER :
Back pain, Stomach pain, shortness of breath Cold sweats, nausea, dizziness.CHORUS:
If you know the symptoms and heed the signs You’ll be around for a long, long time Women, listen to me and when I’m done If any sound familiar, call 911.(SPOKEN)
SINGER:
Women, listen to me and when I’m done If any sound familiar, call 911CHORUS:
If any sound familiar, call 911
WTOP’s Joan Jones contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
