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Q: Would you expect to survive a heart attack in China?
Let's say you just drop on the street, maybe from something like a heart attack or a stroke. Would you think that is survivable in China?
11 years 11 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
Nice morbid question for Monday morning. I would say no. Even if the medical care was good enough, you probably wouldn't receive it in time because no one would call an ambulance for fear of having to pay for it themselves.
When my mother in law went absolutely bonkers and tried to kill our baby, I called the police to come help so it wouldn't resort to violence (which it did). It took them maybe 4 hours to come, because they couldn't actually find out where we were based on the phone GPS.
There is no such rescue system in place, or the police didn't have access to it. I spoke enough Chinese to tell them where we were, and they still couldn't find us. I couldn't understand their heavy accents, etc, and my wife was frozen in fear and kept crying uncontrollably.
There was no ability to send them a text message written in Chinese. The emergency system didn't support it. They only came after a neighbor came and helped us with his phone (mine got stolen by her brother for a short time).
There's no way I would expect to survive anything here.
Well, I dont think I would survive no. Not my body at least.
However, since everyone would probably film it on their phone cams, I am certain that I would in a way, live forever (on yourku). Flopping and squelching on your little screen for all eternity.
Or until the "undocumented extra solar entities" decide to eat us all....
When I was a first aider in my previous career, the 'rule of thumb' for suspected heart attack was to get the casualty to hospital first (i.e. if you're alone make the phone call prior to commencing CPR). Apparently the statistics prove that if you get a casualty to hospital within 30 minutes the chances of survival are dramatically increased.
In China I think you would be lucky if the ambulance gets to you within 30 minutes let alone getting to hospital, so I must say I would imagine the chances of survival are considerably lower than in our home nations.
I knew of one guy who died last year while playing soccer. Ruijin hospital happened to be within less than a 1 kilometre radius & it took them over an hour to arrive. Once they did arrive, they asked for 2000 rmb because he didn't have sufficient proof of health care. All in all it took 2 and a half hours to get him to the hospital, he died before he got there.
Do you mean surviving because nobody will help you out? I expect most people to stare or walk passed someone who has just had a heart attack. I've never had a heart attack, but I feel bad for those that do or have had one here.
Scandinavian:
anything from lack of help on the street, to not being able to get to the hospital and also the hospital not being educated to properly deal with it
I have a fear that even if you did survive, they would still take it to sell on the black market.
Scandinavian:
that is probably mostly for those in their 20ies to fear, us with higher mileage are not as good as spare parts
Heart attack? I'm dubious about surviving a toothache. "Your head, Mr mArtiAn, it's going to have to come off. That'll be 15000 yuan please. The napkins are free."
Now that's a good question. Unfortunately I agree with most of the above. That is, I believe if one had a heart attack here, they would die. It's a sobering thought.
