cough-cpr-is-fake

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Finally been un-shadowbanned after two months of trying to contact Tumblr 👍 I'm trying to work out how to not be flagged as spam, then I'll be back to contacting people who have unfortunately reblogged a misinformation post. Sorry to everyone who's probably now getting asks coming into their inbox that I sent two months ago!

[cough-cpr-is-fake]

Read this and save a life - YOUR OWN

From a surgical nurse and certified CPR teacher:

Please pause for 2 minutes and read this:

1. Let’s say it’s 7.25pm and you’re going home (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job.

2. You’re really tired, upset and frustrated.

3 Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag out into your arm and up in to your jaw. You are only about five km from the hospital nearest your home.

4. Unfortunately you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it that far.

5. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy who taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself.

6. 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 consciousness.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives!!

10. A cardiologist says If everyone who gets this mail kindly sends it to 10 people, you can bet that we’ll save at least one life.

11. Rather than sending jokes, please... contribute by forwarding this mail which can save a person’s life.

12. If this message comes around you... more than once… please don’t get irritated... You should instead, be happy that you have many friends who care about you & keeps reminding you how to deal with a Heart attack.

please take the time and boost this post by reposting it and sending it to those you love because we all need to understand how to quickly deal with heart attacks

[cough-cpr-is-fake]

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE Let’s say it’s 6.15pm and you’re going home (alone of course), after an unusually hard day on the job. You’re really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag 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. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself..!! NOW 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 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 perhaps buy precious time to get themselves to a phone and dial 911. Rather than sharing another joke please contribute by broadcasting this which can save a person’s life! Be prepared and become part of the solution. Get your free next-of-kin notification card today. Click here: https://www.InCaseOfEmergencyCard.com/

[cough-cpr-is-fake]

“Cough CPR” is misinformation

What is “cough CPR”?

“Cough CPR” is a myth which claims that rhythmic coughing can reduce the impact of a heart attack. It has been circulating for over two decades via email and on social media platforms (Wikipedia, 2023).

Why doesn’t it work?

A heart attack happens when the blood flow to the heart is restricted due to blockage. Cardiac arrest is when your heart stops pumping completely (British Heart Foundation, n.d.).

These definitions alone should demonstrate the problem with “cough CPR”. If you have a heart attack, your heart is still pumping, so you do not need CPR. If you experience cardiac arrest, you will fall unconscious within seconds (Resuscitation Council UK, 2021) and therefore won’t be able to perform “cough CPR”.

In many cases, “cough CPR” could even worsen the problem or prove fatal if coughing is undertaken to the wrong rhythm (Snopes, 2003).

Is “cough CPR” ever useful?

Coughing creates pressure that forces blood to flow to the brain (Cleveland Clinic, 2020).

It may therefore be possible for someone experiencing sudden arrhythmia to maintain consciousness for a few seconds by coughing. However, the patient would already need to be under constant monitoring for the arrhythmia to be detected. It should also only be done at the instruction of a doctor, as a medical professional will still be needed to treat the abnormal heart rhythm (American Heart Association, 2023).

Cases where “cough CPR” has been useful have all been isolated incidents performed in this kind of clinical setting (see Snopes, 2003; UChicago Medicine, 2019; American Heart Association, 2023).

Reference list

American Heart Association. (2023) Cough CPR. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204210831/https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cardiac-arrest/emergency-treatment-of-cardiac-arrest/cough-cpr (Accessed: 4 December 2023).

British Heart Foundation. (n.d.) Could something called ‘cough CPR’ save my life? Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204210457/https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/ask-the-experts/cough-cpr (Accessed: 4 December 2023).

Cleveland Clinic. (2020) The dangerous truth about cough CPR. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204205549/https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-you-cough-away-a-heart-attack (Accessed: 4 December 2023).

Resuscitation Council UK. (2021). Resuscitation Council UK’s statement on cough CPR. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204211021/https://www.resus.org.uk/about-us/news-and-events/resuscitation-council-uks-statement-cough-cpr (Accessed: 4 December 2023).

Snopes. (2003). How to survive a heart attack when alone. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204214909/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cough-cpr/ (Accessed: 4 December 2023).

UChicago Medicine. (2019) Can coughing stop a heart attack? Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204213936/https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/heart-and-vascular-articles/can-coughing-stop-a-heart-attack (Accessed: 4 December 2023).

Wikipedia. (2023) Cough CPR. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231204211113/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cough_CPR (Accessed: 4 December 2023).