Emergencies with older people
With stroke and heart attack, minutes change the outcome.
Call 119 immediately — stroke signs
Any one of these three means call now.
- Ask them to smile — one corner of the mouth droops.
- Ask them to raise both arms — one drifts down.
- Speech is slurred or the sentence comes out wrong.
Note the time the symptoms started — it changes the treatment available.
Also call 119 immediately for
- Crushing chest pain lasting over five minutes, with cold sweat or vomiting. See heart-attack.
- Unconsciousness or a weak response. See cpr-emergency.
- A fall they cannot get up from — possible hip fracture. Don't move them.
- Sudden breathlessness with blue lips.
- High fever with lethargy or confusion.
- A medication error or double dose. See poisoning.
What you can do now
- Call 119 and give the time symptoms started and the medicines they take.
- If unconscious and not breathing, start CPR — follow the phone guidance.
- Do not force food or water — swallowing may be impaired.
- Do not move someone who has fallen unnecessarily.
- Bring the medicine packets or prescription.
Worth preparing in advance
- A note of medicines and underlying conditions. See emergency-card.
- A guardian's number somewhere visible, such as the fridge.
- Ask the community centre about the emergency safety service (detection and alert devices for older people living alone).
- Check whether long-term care insurance has been applied for. See long-term-care.
Where to go
- 119 ambulance
- 1339 Emergency Medical Information Centre
- 129 Health and Welfare Call Centre
- 1577-1000 Long-Term Care Insurance (NHIS)
- 1577-1389 Elder Protection Agency (abuse reports)
Questions people ask
The person doesn't speak Korean. You can request interpretation on the 119 call, and 1577-1366 is also available. See medical-interpreter.
They live alone and I'm worried. Ask the community centre about the emergency safety service and customised care for older people. See elderly-welfare.
I suspect abuse. Report to 1577-1389 — anonymously if you prefer. See elder-abuse.
I'm worried about hospital bills. Ask 129 about medical benefits and emergency medical cost support. See medical-emergency-no-money.
Take care
Don't brush it off as "a rest will fix it". Stroke treatment works best within a few hours. Older people tend to endure pain, so symptoms surface late. If something differs from usual, get it checked.
Related
cpr-emergency · heart-attack · elderly-welfare · elder-abuse · emergency-card
Source
Emergency Medical Portal www.e-gen.or.kr / As of 2026-08