Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge self cpr

What are you to do if you have a heart attack
While you are alone.
If you've already received this,
It means people care about you.
The Johnson City Medical Center staff actually
Discovered this and did an in-depth study
On it in our ICU.
The two individuals that discovered this then did
An article on it, had it published and have had it incorporated into ACLS and CPR classes.
It is very true and has and does work.
It is called cough CPR.
A cardiologist says it's the truth
If everyone who gets this sends it to 10 people,
You can bet that we'll save at least one life.
It could save your life!



Let's say it's 6:15 p.m. And you're driving home
(alone of course), after an usually hard day on the job.
You're really tired, upset and frustrated.
Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain
In your chest that starts to radiate out
Into your arm and up into your jaw.
You are only about five miles from the hospital
Nearest your home.
Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be
Able to make it that far.
What can you do?
You've been trained in CPR
But the guy that taught the course didn't tell
You what to do if it happened to yourself.



Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, this article seemed to be in order.
Without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint,
Has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.
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 regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victimscan get to a hospital.
Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives!
From Health Cares, Rochester General Hospital via Chapter 240s newsletter
'AND THE BEAT GOES ON '
(reprint from The Mended Hearts, Inc. Publication, Heart Response)
BE A FRIEND AND PLEASE SEND
THIS ARTICLE
TO AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE









John - IT&S Dept.
Conroe Regional Medical Center
936-539-7461

Don't try this at home folks.

If you are having a heart attack (myocardial infarction) then the effort of coughing may actually speed up your demise by placing extra effort on the heart.

Coughing can also stimulate the vagus nerve which will slow your heart down, which in some cases will cause you to pass out. If you already are having a problem with a slow heart rate (bradycardia) caused by a myocardial infarction then you will definetly speed up your demise.

Alternately taking really deep breaths can cause a rise in interthoracic pressure, which can restrict the return of blood to the heart.

If you are having a cardiac arrest then I defy anyone to start coughing, cardiac arrest = heart stopped beating, although there may be some electrical activity still present, you will be unresponsive.

However if there is anyone who you do not like then please forward this email to them.

Wow Graham! I, for one, am certainly glad that you spotted Chad's posting here early on and were able to dispel this bit of misinformation so early and before it had become "common knowledge"!

Yep, 'cause everyone by this time SHOULD know that FARTING at the first sign of a Myocardial Infarction would be one's BEST course of action in such a situation!

(...I mean, why do you think the word "infarction" has the letters "f", "a", "r" AND "t" in it?!!!!)

----- Forwarded Message -----
From Health Cares, Rochester General Hospital via Chapter 240s newsletter
'AND THE BEAT GOES ON '
(reprint from The Mended Hearts, Inc. Publication, Heart Response)


John - IT&S Dept.
Conroe Regional Medical Center
936-539-7461

This is where the information came from. I was just passing it along. I am not a Dr. but that guys is. Got no idea why they would send out mis-information. New studies reveal new things all the time. Of coarse verify everything for yourself.

Well what else is one to do, Graham?? Beat your chest like Tarzan?? Just curious now.

Coughing does indeed stimulate the vagus nerve and has the consequent parasympathetic response. I could see how, if the individual were experiencing atrial tachycardia, or even ventricular tachycardia, how a vagal response could help restore sinus rhythm, much like a dose of atropine. The problem is, without being on a monitor, you're shooting blindly.

I did a search on this and this is what I found...

This message gives the impression that the technique described has the endorsement of Rochester General Hospital and Mended Hearts, Inc., a heart attack victims' support group. It does not. Although the text was first published in a Mended Hearts newsletter, the organization has since retracted it. Rochester General Hospital played no part in the creation or dissemination of the message, nor does it endorse its contents.

According to the best information I can find, "cough CPR" (referred to in some variants as "self-CPR") is a real procedure occasionally used in emergency situations under professional supervision. It is not, however, taught in standard CPR courses, nor do most medical professionals presently recommend it as a "life-saving" measure for people who experience the most common types of heart attack while alone (note: see update below).

One doctor I contacted — a heart specialist — had never even heard of the procedure.

Other doctors say they're aware of the "cough CPR" technique but would only advise it under very specific circumstances. For example, in certain cases where a patient has abnormal heart rhythms, coughing can help normalize them, according to Dr. Stephen Bohan of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. However, most heart attacks are not of this type. Dr. Bohan says the best course of action for a typical heart attack victim is to immediately take an aspirin (which helps dissolve blood clots) and call 911.

This is a case where a nugget of truth has apparently been misunderstood and misrepresented to the public, though not intentionally. A chapter of Mended Hearts published it without proper research. It was then reprinted by other chapters and eventually found its way into email form.

Darla Bonham, the organization's executive director, issued a statement afterward which read, in part:

I've received email from people all across the country wanting to know if it is a valid medically approved procedure. I contacted a scientist on staff with the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiac Care division, and he was able to track a possible source of the information. The information comes from a professional textbook on emergency cardiac care. This procedure is also known as "cough CPR" and is used in emergency situations by professional staff. The American Heart Association does not recommend that the public use this method in a situation where there is no medical supervision.
As with all medical rumors, the most prudent course of action is to verify the information with your own doctor or other medical professional before acting upon it or sharing it with others.

2003 update: In September 2003, four years after this email rumor began circulating, Polish physician Tadeusz Petelenz presented the results of a study which he said demonstrates that cough CPR can indeed save the lives of some heart attack victims. While not immediately embraced by all the members attending the European Society of Cardiology meeting where Petelenz spoke, the findings were characterized by some as "interesting." At least one heart specialist, Dr. Marten Rosenquist of Sweden, found fault with the study, objecting that Petelenz had presented no evidence that the subjects had actually experienced cardiac arythmias. He called for further research.

Like it has already been stated, Self - CPR is false information.
As unofficial president of the BA chapter of the Sydney Sceptics Society, I run all of these emails through Snopes.com first.
Makes for good reading when you do.

web page

Uh huh, John! Okay, I guess it's settled then. Coughing(btw, why is that spelled that way...shouldn't it be spelled "coffing"...ah, but I digress, sorry....now where was I?..oh yeah) that coughing(I still say that's a weird way to spell that) won't help ya out much IF your ticker suddenly decides to go south on ya.(well, I suppose if you're already in Australia, ya can't go much more south than, say, New Zealand, huh?!...ah, but once again I digress...sorry...now where was I AGAIN?...oh yeah)...BUT....did they say ANYTHING at ALL about that farting thing I mentioned earlier??????

They didn't dispel THAT yet, now did THEY???

See?! I STILL could be right after ALL, huh?!

(...hey, don't blame ME...CHAD started this whole thing, if you recall!!!!!!)

Regarding the FARTING to help during a heart attack, well.

If the said FARTING manouver is attempted always carry a spare set of clean underware when one goes out alone.

Great research Stevie

I think Dwight, that farting may actually drive away those who are trying to help the MI victim

Or perhaps... may speed up the CPR process