What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

[LadyFish]

Let’s say its 6:15 p.m. and you are driving home from work alone after an unusually hard day on the job. You’re really tired, and frustrated at the heavy traffic, suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest, your sweaty and feel dizzy and faint, the pain radiates to your arm and up into your jaw.

You, my friend, are having a heart attack.

The hospital is only five minutes away but you may not have 5 minutes. In fact, you have about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.

Do not panic; do not worry if you cannot pull over, seconds count. Start coughing repeatedly and VERY vigorously.

Take a deep breath before each cough. Each cough should 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 letting up until the heart starts beating normally.

This step could save your life.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and intense coughing squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. This can at least give you enough time to get to the hospital or call 911.

Don’t ever think that you are not prone to heart attack at any age or physical well-being. Heart attacks can happen to anyone at any age.

I will receive my Instructor Certification from Red Cross tonight to teach First Aid, Adult, Child and Infant CPR and the use of AED’s! This is something I learned a few weeks ago which is far too important not to share.

Share it with someone you love.

 

[DJ]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

Thanks LF.

 

[jinx]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

You are right LF about 10 secs.

I was hunting with a friend and we were climbing a steep hill on my place.

"Doesn't this hill ever end," he said.

As I turned to reply I saw him go down, completely unconcious and with the exception of a twitch, never moved again.

A very lonely feeling being in the woods. CPR maintains, it doesn't bring you back--unless it is a choking or obstructed airway.

When I took a CPR course, the instructor said "you will probably never use this."

I have, twice. One happy, one not.

Jinx

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

Very good info LF, thanks for posting it.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

BTDT, it will also cause pain in leg/s sometimes along with all the other.

 

[DJ]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

This is a great discussion. Let's hope we never have to use any of this information. Yet being prepared is good, indeed.

I've never had an attack, thank goodness. However, if we can call on some of the folks here that have, maybe we can prevent a few.

Symptoms? I'll bet some of us are ignoring a few.:'(

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

Believe it or not a pain in your thumb or big toe can be a symptom,

A pain in between your shoulder blades or shortness of breath, jaw pain can be signs.

Vomiting, sweating and dizziness can be a symptom.

Most women who suffer heart attacks don't realize they are having one.

Although experts indicate that there is only a 14% revival rate for using CPR on an adult victim, you are still giving them best chance of survival possible.
To me, thats priceless.

 

[xtraham]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

thanks LF,
I have heard this before but never knew if it was true,
my father use to complain about pains in his neck and chest, he had a heart attack and died at age 48,

 

[DJ]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

Most women who suffer heart attacks don't realize they are having one.

Absolutely correct. That was indeed the case with my mom. She thought she was just feeling a "little tired". Thank goodness my sister in law recognized other symptoms-color, movement, breathing. She is with us today because of SIL's sharp eye.

 

[JB]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

There are different sorts of "heart attacks". I've had three, all of the type least likely to cause immediate death. That is a myocardial infarct (sp?), or MI. It usually doesn't stop the heart, but it hurts like the dickens and isn't always immediately diagnosable even with a heart monitor (EKG). Because your heart doesn't stop it is the type most of us try to ignore. We pass it off as gas, indigestion or even the "stitch" we used to get in our side from overexertion as children. That "stitch" was also caused by insufficient oxygen to your heart muscles.

Ladyfish is spot-on. If you have those symptoms get help. . .NOW.

Cardiac arrest can be caused by several other things as well as an ignored MI. The deep breath and cough method can keep you conscious. . .hopefully long enough to get help.

I have had a few cardiac "pauses" in which the heart stops for 3 to 5 seconds, then restarts. Those 3 to 5 seconds seem like an eternity and unconciousness is clearly only a (missing) heartbeat away. Those were caused by incompatibility between 2 prescription drugs I was on.

Thanks for the reminder, LF. The life you save may be mine.d

 

[treedancer]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

Your right Ladyfish it can happen to anybody. Here is a prime example

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sp...572960016F4DA?OpenDocument&highlight=2,"nash"

<<More than 2,000 mourners gathered in Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church with tears in their eyes Monday morning for the funeral of former Missouri football player Damien Nash, but most left the way Nash would have wanted it — with a smile.

Fifteen speakers, including his current head coach, the Broncos' Mike Shanahan, Broncos linebacker Al Wilson, Broncos running back Cecil Sapp, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and East St. Louis High School coach Darren Sunkett, highlighted that attribute when speaking of Nash, 24, who collapsed suddenly in his home Feb. 24>>.

He was a local boy here to perform a benefit basketball game at a local charity to benefit heart transplants, and he died of, what appears to be a heart attack. We wont know for sure for about three weeks, ironically his older brother had a heart transplant last year , I would imagine that heart problems run in the family.:'(

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

read more about this on snopes...some of it is true, most false....the key is getting early help!

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

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

HOGWASH!!!!!!

Regardless of what snopes says, it is used a handout at Red Cross classes for INSRUCTORS. Thanks for trying to ruin a good PSA.

The standards they (ARC) teach are far above many others. I think if I am experiencing a heart attack and I am alone I will cough. :| I ill also teach my students to do the same.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

The time you wasted snopesing my post could have been spent saving your own or someone else's life.

I don;t make it a habit of passing out information that is not credible KK.

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

Connie.....

trust me...I've been in life saving situations. I used to be an EMT. I did the whole school thing, did labor and delievery (yes, had to deliver babies at LBJ county hospital), used to ride the ambulances making critial calls, volunteered at the Houston Marathon, first responder at work where we've had to do CPR, and even taught CPR classes...all three, infant, child and adult.

All I was doing was posting more information and that coughing will not save you....you need immediate medical attention. 911 and get EMS there! that's all I was getting at!

the only reason I snoped it is because I saw that email a couple of years ago and then someone replied with the snopes link....I knew I saw it there and went and found it in about 30 seconds.

ps...Although I let my EMT lapse, I'm still current on all levels of first responder and CPR skills!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

When Snopes receives their Master Instuctor's certificate in CPR and other life saving techniques with years of hands on experience, then I will believe them. :|

 

[xtraham]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

snop's or no snop's
if I start having pains in my chest, shortness of breath
ol' Tom's gonna be coughin
Thanks LF

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

boy...did I **** her off! 8)

all I was doing was posting more information. There's a lot of information on the net and via email that can actually make a bad situation worse.

like a lot of people will tap someone on the back when they're choking....that's the WORSE thing you could do....that could actually cause the person to choke worse...best thing is if a person is couching and being productive, let them cough...if no air is moving, then the Heimlich(sp) maneover(I can't spell).....

there's so much crap on the internet and a lot will actually cause harm......that's all

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

CPR has changed as of January 2007 KK, hope your up to date.

Its pretty darn obvious you need immediate medical attention KK, this is seconds after you experience the inability to breath.

EMT or not, coughing hard while choking or experiencing a heart attack can save a person's life by opening up the airway and getting oxygen to the blood and to vital organs.

Thanks for your credentials although not necessary.

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: What to do if you are alone and having a heart attack

since this is March and I'm not due up until October didn't know that...you don't have to get nasty!