HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE
(Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart
attack,this article seemed in order.)
Without help the person whose heart stops beating properly
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
rythm. In his way, heart attack victims can get to a phone and,
between breaths, all for help.
--from Health Cares, Rochester General Hospital via Chapter
240's newsletter AND THE BEAT GOES ON... (reprint from The Mended
Hearts, Inc. publication, Heart Response)
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