Know when to drive to a hospital, when to call 911

Sometimes people show up at Dr. Ryan McCorkle’s emergency department at St. David’s Medical Center, and he’s amazed they’ve driven themselves there. They’re having signs of a heart attack or stroke, they’re struggling to breathe, and they can’t even use their arms or legs to steer a car effectively.

Then he’ll see the person with a sprained ankle who arrives by ambulance. They could have called a friend or a ride-hailing service, McCorkle said.

But there are times you should call 911 and not drive.

“We don’t ever want to necessarily discourage or dissuade someone from calling 911,” said Capt. Darren Noak of

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.

When you call 911, the dispatcher will get the situation evaluated and send the right team to you, Noak said. That might be an ambulance, a firetruck, a physician’s assistant or even a doctor. If it’s not an emergency, you might be referred to a nonemergency center that connects people to services including medical help. Response times vary based on the nature of the emergency and where the person is located, Noak said. More lifethreatening calls get prioritized.

Here are some recommendations from Noak, McCorkle and the American College of Emergency Physicians:

Call 911 if:

The person you are with has stopped breathing or their heart is not beating. Call 911, start CPR and have someone look for an automated electronic defibrillator if you’re in a public place. EMS can continue CPR, give certain medications and take the patient to the hospital.

The person is struggling to breathe. Check to see if their chest sucks air in, their fingers or lips are turning blue, or they have shortness of breath. Check for an obstruction. Upon arrival, EMS can take over.

The person is choking. Do abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) or back blows until EMS arrives.

Moving the person would cause further injury. True in car accidents. Let first responders move the patient.

Symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. For heart attack: Pain, pressure, aching, tightness or squeezing in the chest; pain that spreads to the shoulder, back, neck, jaw, teeth or upper belly; cold sweat; fatigue; heartburn or indigestion; lightheadedness or sudden dizziness; nausea; shortness of breath.

For stroke, think BEFAST: balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, and time is of the essence. Signs include: balance, vision loss in one or both eyes, face drooping, unable to lift limbs, numbness on one side, slurred speech, difficulty putting words together.

For a heart attack, “every minute that goes by is tissue death,” McCorkle said. EMS can do an EKG and text the hospital the results.

Medics can start fluids, oxygen and medications. For a stroke, the clot bust