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QUINCY, ILL. -- February is only days away and it's a month dedicated to the heart.

We're not talking just Valentines Day, we're talking a healthy ticker.

"Well, we get calls for chest pains multiple times a day, on a daily basis," Adams County Paramedic, Doug Ore said. "It's our job to figure out what the cause of that chest pain is and a lot of the times it is cardiac."

Ore and his Adams County paramedic team say the best thing you can do during a heart emergency is dial 911.

"Many people make the mistake of trying to drive themselves to the hospital, minimizing their complaints, believing that it's not their heart," paramedic Allen Stotts said. "Possibly thinking that it's indigestion or a muscle pull or something like that and then come to find out it's their heart."

"For one, if they're driving themselves in and they experience cardiac arres,t then they can have a car accident and hurt other people," Ore said. "It's been proven that by calling 911 and allowing the ambulance to come and start your treatment at your bedside or at your home, there's a better chance of survival."

The second thing to do is start chest compressions immediately. Your chance of survival drops 10 percent every minute you're not breathing.

"We went to a private residence for a person short of breath and when we arrived the daughter was doing compressions on her mother and once we got there we started our care with her and we did end up reviving this lady," Stotts said.

Before you start thinking about what to do in case of a heart emergency, think about how you can prevent it.

"To be heart healthy you just need to eat right and exercise," Ore said. "If you're concerned about your heart, then you should definitely see your doctor."

Symptoms of a heart attack are chest pains that may stay in your chest or travel through your left arm, neck and face. You also can experience shortness of breath and feel light headed or dizzy. If you have these systems, call 911 immediately.

Click here, to learn about chest compressions.

Learn more about American Heart Month, here.