What are you to do if you have a heart attack while you are alone.  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 that 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 victims can get to a hospital.  Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives!  

Sent to HARP by one of our clients...

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