Is This True About Heart Attack Prevention?

[Cloverjo]

This email has been doing the rounds again. Is the advice in it true, or should I tell my dad to stop sending it to all his friends, and never rely on it to keep him alive?

//HOW TO
SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE?
Since
Many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack
Without help, the person whose heart is beating
Improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10
Seconds left before losing
However,
These victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and
Very vigorously.
A deep
Breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must
Be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep
Inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated
About every two seconds without let-up until help arrives,
Or until the heart is felt to be beating normally
Again.
Deep breaths
Get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements
Squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The
Squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it to regain a
Normal rhythm.

[murraymints]

take aspirin !

[EDDIE51]

I think the main problem is very few people realize they are having a heart attack.

[Old_Geezer]

I'd not know but it sounds plausible to me. Trying to knock the heart off it's defective motion and into something regular. Worth a try in any case.

[RATTER15]

I have heard of this a few times, I'm sure it helps to some degree but unsure how effective it is. But certainly worth having a go.

[Cloverjo]

Ok, thanks, everyone. Better than doing nothing or panicking anyway, I guess.

[EDDIE51]

If you think you are having a heart attack the first and most important thing is to dial 999 IMMEDIATELY , do not worry about anything else.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/heart-attack?gclid=Cj0KEQjwx7u5BRC1lePz2biJpIYBEiQA-ZeDmh2fTAToxhzQrm2CGg3o1m5iS7G_cfy3mYBqo-WTdxsaAteb8P8HAQ
The emergency service will tell you what to do while help is on the way.
That email should make it very clear that the first thing to do is dial 999 ! other advice comes after calling the emergency service.

[EDDIE51]

^^ Do not worry about makes a false 999 call, a suspected heart attack is a real emergency and you will never be criticized for calling 999. If it turns out to be something other than a heart attack at least you will be reassured.
I worry that someone reading that email will waste valuable seconds wondering how/ trying to cough deeply enough to do any good rather than getting help. IMO it could actually do more harm than good.

[Cloverjo]

Good point, Eddie. I edited the OP for the sake of space, so have just gone back to the original to see if there is any mention of calling 999 or 911 (I think it originated in USA). There isn't any.
I hope everyone would call an ambulance first.

[Sqad]

Sounds good advice to me........it is a simple form of auto0CPR I suppose, the lungs and cough performing the cardiac massage.

[RATTER15]

Of course Eddie is right, I think the coughing would possibly help if you cant get to a phone and you are alone, in which case cough for all you are worth!!

[woofgang]

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

[Sqad]

Thoughts:

First heart attack kills 30%........second heart attack kills 50%.

At least 80% of MIs occur in people without a prior history of angina pectoris, and 20% are not recognized as such at the time of their occurrence either because they cause no symptoms (silent infarction) or because symptoms are attributed to other causes.

So really it doesn't matter what you do.....it will make little difference.
Eddie's advice is correct........for the heart that is still beating.

I would have thought that this thread is all about ANGINA and not a heart attack.

[bednobs]

the email makes it sound like people are just going about their nirmal business, feel faint, and unless they start coughing, in 10 seconds time they will drop dead of heart attack, but if they do cough, they will cure themselves That scenario is not all that likely!

[Sqad]

^^^ LOL^^...agreed.

[EDDIE51]

I agree with the point about '' only 10 seconds before you lose consciousness'' that VERY rarely happens. The thought that you are about to pass out unless you start the breathing/coughing routine within 10 seconds is in my opinion more likely to cause panic than a measured response.

[EDDIE51]

This is from the organisation that started this 'Cough' email!
http://mendedhearts.org/resources/about-heart-disease/the-coughing-rumor
It has been taken out of context and can actually be dangerous 'cough CPR' can help but only in very limited situations and when used by people who have previously been trained in the procedure!

[237SJ]

I would have thought that if someone coughed as deeply and as frequently as that, they would end up passing out from hyperventilation.

[EDDIE51]

I had the same thought, 237SJ !