Might save your life

[lucylastic]

Whether you are young or old this might be useful knowledge one day.

http://www.senior2senior.org/HeartAttack.pdf

[Kitty]

Thank you for sharing this.

[WJT]

I sent it to my Father. Something so simple but perhaps could save a life. I too thank you for sharing.

[woolybanana]

Thank you indeed.

[andyh4]

http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/coughcpr.asp

 

Somehow it seemed to good to be true  [:(]

[Bugsy]

Chomping aspirin is recommended too.

.

[Sunday Driver]

Regardless of whether or not the coughing advice turns out to be accurate, I'd be very cautious about taking at face value anything in an amateur Powerpoint presentation circulated through one of those 'Send a copy of this to all your friends' e-mails.

My cardiologist has never mentioned this procedure to me so I wonder if he reads Snopes as well....

 

[lucylastic]

When I first received the email (from a friend) my first instinct was to delete it as I never usually forward these (send it on to 10 people you know) emails. But I thought that as there were a large number of old duffers on this forum it may be of some help to someone. Whether it works or not who knows, but if you find yourself on your own when it happens it might just make the difference until proper help comes. As has already been stated, this coughing mullarkey is no substitute for proper medical assistance.

Incidentally I come into the category of an "old duffer" myself and I wonder if I would be able to remember this advice if the circumstances ever arose.

[Gardengirl]

I thought it seemed a good idea when I read the original post, especially as Rochester hospital's name was attached to it. But apparently all isn't as it appeared.

If those circumstances arose, maybe I'd remember. I don't think I'm likely to keep aspirin in the car just in case, though - and they'd probably be relegated to the boot - so no use in the circumsances described!

When my OH had a heart attack it was at home in England one Saturday lunchtime, and he thought he'd just pulled a muscle near the shoulder, although he was also a bit sleepy. It wasn't till the next day, Sunday, when he was weak and floppy, still with the ache near the shoulder that I shoved him in the car and drove him to A&E, just a 5 minute drive away. He felt a bit of a fraud, but was too weak to make much of a protest - worrying in itself! Everything moved fast from then on, and he was dealt with rapidly and very efficiently, hooked straight up to ECG, blood tests etc, and made a very good recovery. They told us he'd had the heart attack the previous lunchtime, according to the tests they did; there's something that shows up in the blood which indicates whow long ago it happened.

I was shocked to be told it was a heart attack, as my only guide had been TV and films, where somebody has a huge pain etc and staggers about - not at all like my OH had. Be warned, it can be quite a mild hurt, too!

[andyh4]

Well if anyone is tempted to try this please do not take a deep breath every 2 seconds as suggested - all this will do is make you hyperventilate and black out. As for getting a deep cough in between, I doubt if it is possible.  It was this that sent me to snopes in the first place and they confirmed my suspicions.

[bubbles]

We've both been practising - just in case.

I think this is one of the things we just might remember if on our own and experiencing heart attack symptoms.

Merci beaucoup

[Sprogster]

The advice I have seen that the medical authorities are issuing at the moment about suspected heart attacks is immediately call an ambulance/paramedics, take a 375mg Aspirin and don't try and make your own way to the hospital. Unless I suppose it is next door!

The reason given is that the paramedics can administer the clot busting drugs as soon as they arrive at your house if needed and stabilise the patient, which you or your spouse cannot do if you are driving to hospital and in most cases the paramedics can get to you far quicker than you can drive to hospital. They don't have to obey red lights or speed limits and have sirens!

Also very importantly if you arrive at A&E in an ambulance you take priority and will be seen immediately, rather than being asked to wait and complete forms.

[Sunday Driver]

Sound advice, Sprogster.

When I had my heart attack, I'd gone to bed early but had awoken with a mild discomfort in my chest similar to heartburn. I then became faint and distressed so I banged on the bedroom radiator to alert my wife.  My daughter immediately dialed 999 and the ambulance arrived soon after. 

The paramedic said he wanted to give me a clot busting drug injection and asked for my permission.  I said, fine go ahead.  He said good, because if I don't do it now, you probably won't reach the hospital alive. 

Cue Sunday rolling up the sleeve of his jimmies.....[:-))]

 

[lucylastic]

All the subsequent advice on the forum (following my OP) advocating calling for trained medical assistance, is of course what anybody should do if they can. The point about my posting was for anybody alone in the car and maybe not near immediate help, which is what it said right at the beginning.

If you think the advice was a load of rubbish, so be it.

 

[debbie]

Hello To All: Regarding possible heart attacks, please take caution as I lost my brother at age 57 and his son, my nephew, at age 39 to what they thought was a heart attack - same symptoms. But they both died of a torn aorta. The big difference is that with a torn aorta the patient is bleeding profusely internally. They both were given a blood thinner as is typically given to heart attack sufferes. Instead they should have had drastic measures taken to stop the bleeding. The blood thinner made matters worse and unfortunely died due to it being to late to control the bleeding.

The best way to determine if you may have a problem is to have an MRI done of your aorta. If there is no history in your family, you may be completey unaware of any problem.

[Doodle]

I reaslised early on that it wasn't necessary to feel pain on having a heart attack when my uncle came home from work told my aunt all he wanted for his tea was a boiled egg. He sat at the table and when she delived the egg a few minutes later he'd died (no pain involved). A few years ago our friend on the morning of moving house suddenly said he felt a bit tired and was just going to sit for a minute in the chair (the removal men worked around him). His wife got him a glass of water of which he took a sip and then the glass dropped to the floor and he was gone - again no pain. The awful thing was that she had to carry on with the move and said she felt like she'd closed the door on him as well as her home.

Chris

[bubbles]

Same thing with my father in law.

He was sitting up in bed reading his cowboy as he did every night before going to sleep.

Called out to his wife "Have you got a sweetie, Margaret?"

She brought one for him but he never got to eat it!

[Daft Doctor]

For what its worth, from a medical standpoint, I don't think coughing in those cicumstances would do any harm but neither would it be likely to do any good.

I can understand the notion that by coughing you can increase pressure inside the chest and in theory compress the heart, but the increased pressure is unlikely to be anything near enough to forcibly circulate blood to the lungs and brain. Secondly, the increased pressure would be manifest throughout the chest cavity, not localised to the heart itself, so there would also be increased pressure on the blood vessels as they leave the heart for the brain and lungs. This would neutralise the effects that any pressure on the heart would have in encouraging blood flow away from the heart. Direct cardiac compressions, as performed during cardiac ressuscitation on the other hand provide much greater and more direct pressure on the heart itself, driving blood away to the vital organs.

I concur absolutely that ringing 999 and chewing an Aspirin are the best first aid measures if there is no-one there to help.

[Salty Sam]

For what it's worth, this has been circulating for a number of years and I take this opportunity to provide the following, courtesy of the European Resuscitation Council:

[quote]

The BLS/AED Subcommittee has received a number of enquiries from people who have been informed about "cough CPR" and "How to survive a heart attack when alone". Advice has been put on the Internet that someone who thinks he or she is suffering a heart attack should repeatedly cough and go at once to a hospital, by car if necessary.

This advice is based (very loosely) on published case reports of people being able to maintain some sort of cardiac output during cardiac arrest by vigorous coughing - so-called "cough CPR". The scenario has usually been of a patient developing ventricular fibrillation whilst being monitored, often whilst undergoing cardiac catheterisation. The patient has been encouraged to cough and a measurable circulation has been recorded. This anecdotal evidence supports the theory that chest compressions during CPR are successful because they increase intrathoracic pressure and result in a flow of blood. The collapsed veins and patent arteries at the thoracic inlet result in this flow being in a forward direction. Coughing produces the same effect.

The BLS/AED Subcommittee knows of no evidence that, even if a lone patient knew that cardiac arrest had occurred, he or she would be able to maintain sufficient circulation to allow activity, let alone driving to the hospital.[/quote]