Dunno if this is the right place, but... (1 Viewer)

Jaws

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Dunno if this is the right place, as it is sort of technical, sort of general and sort of MH related !!

But one thing I am certain of is that it is important and possibly life saving info:

This cut and pasted from elsewhere:

I apologise in advance if this has been been done before or if you've seen it on facebook recently. Please pass this on.

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 get to a hospital. Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives!!

A cardiologist says If everyone who sees this post shares it to 10 people, you can bet that we'll save at least one life..
 
Jul 24, 2010
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Unfortunately not true

Important Notice Regarding the article "How to Survive a Heart Attack When Alone."

People around the country have been receiving an e-mail message entitled "How to Survive a Heart Attack When Alone." This article recommends a procedure to survive a heart attack in which the victim is advised to repeatedly cough at regular intervals until help arrives.

The source of information for this article was attributed to an American hospital. This article is being propagated on the Internet as individuals send it to friends and acquaintances - and then those recipients of the memo send it to their friends and acquaintances, and so on.

There is no record that an article even resembling this was produced by the named hospital within the last 20 years. Furthermore, the medical information listed in the article can not be verified by current medical literature and is in no way condoned by this hospital's medical staff. Also, both The Mended Hearts, Inc., a support organization for heart patients, and the American Heart Association have said that this information should not be forwarded or used by anyone. There is no supporting UK or European data.

Thus, the "advice" presented in this email forward is not condoned by medical experts or research based.
Using the procedure outlined in the message in place of immediately seeking medical help could actually cost a life rather than save it.

Lorraine x
 
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Jaws

Jaws

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Really odd that..
Before posting it I rang a GP mate and asked if it was possible, probable or just silly and dangerous..

His reaction ? ( not verbatim as I was not exactly taking notes but... )

[HI]You will find this idea all over the place.. You will also find gainsayers who can offer no evidence to the contrary. They are collectively covering their own backsides

While I do not know anyone who has survived using this method I can see nothing inherently dangerous or bad about it.
At worst it will do nothing, at best, I have no idea.[/HI]

After a chat about other things and generally putting the world to rights, we were about to say fairwells, when he returned to the subject.
His last remark was actually fairly insightful.

[HI]Hundreds of people die of heart attack whilst alone every year
If I was dying I would try anything rather than just accept that I am going to die..[/HI]



So there you go..

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steveclecy

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Having just completed a "First Aid at Work" course (which in NO way makes me an expert) I would recommend everyone to be familiar with CPR. The Vinny Jones information advert on telly is VERY GOOD. It brings up to date the thinking.

The blood in your body is already oxygenated - get that round the body. "Mouth to mouth" is secondary.

And if you know where a Defib is, try to learn how to use that. They are brilliant. They will not deliver a shock to anyone whose heart is still beating so you will not kill anyone by setting it up wrongly.

I don't want to die alone so if I thought I was about to croak I would follow the advice passed on by Jaws, be it right or be it wrong.

Steve
 
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pappajohn

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is your mate a GP specialising in heart disease John. ?

in my limited experience many GP,s work on a 'best guess' system unless its their specialist area.
 
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Jaws

Jaws

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Important Notice Regarding the article "How to Survive a Heart Attack When Alone."

People around the country have been receiving an e-mail message entitled "How to Survive a Heart Attack When Alone." This article recommends a procedure to survive a heart attack in which the victim is advised to repeatedly cough at regular intervals until help arrives.

The source of information for this article was attributed to an American hospital. This article is being propagated on the Internet as individuals send it to friends and acquaintances - and then those recipients of the memo send it to their friends and acquaintances, and so on.

There is no record that an article even resembling this was produced by the named hospital within the last 20 years. Furthermore, the medical information listed in the article can not be verified by current medical literature and is in no way condoned by this hospital's medical staff. Also, both The Mended Hearts, Inc., a support organization for heart patients, and the American Heart Association have said that this information should not be forwarded or used by anyone. There is no supporting UK or European data.

Thus, the "advice" presented in this email forward is not condoned by medical experts or research based.
[HI]Using the procedure outlined in the message in place of immediately seeking medical help could actually cost a life rather than save it.
[/HI]
Lorraine x

Just reread your post Lorraine..

Anyone in their right mind would seek proper medical help if at all possible rather that try some weird stunt that may or may not work......

But!

because they [HI]are alone and in no position to get medical help[/HI], I take it your source would recommend just do nothing and book a place at the breakfast table with St peter ??

Mate, I am a fighter.. I would try ANYTHING rather than fold up the old camp bed and give up

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Jaws

Jaws

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is your mate a GP specialising in heart disease John. ?

in my limited experience many GP,s work on a 'best guess' system unless its their specialist area.

Yup, just a GP PJ.. and yup, as stated he actually had no idea if it could work..
 

bernardfeay

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My son encouraged me to listen to a podcast from USA. The subject was whether or not medical people would want or accept interventionist treatment.

I'll keep it brief; if you took the TV statistics for how many dramas involve somebody needing CPR and the potential widow saying "don't leave me now Dave". You would find that 70% of people in the drama survive.

In real life 7% of people survive CPR. By all means shoot me down in flames, I hate quoting other people's statistics that I can't substantiate. File it under "food for thought". I place no more trust in my podcast than that.
 

lesleyjean

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Copied from heart disease info from the Mayo clinic.


Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Heart disease treatments vary. You may need lifestyle changes, medications, surgery or other medical procedures as part of your treatment.

Cardiovascular disease treatments
The goal in treating diseases of your arteries (cardiovascular disease) is often to open narrowed arteries that cause your symptoms. Depending on how severe the blockages in your arteries are, treatment may include:

Lifestyle changes. Whether your heart disease is mild or severe, it's likely your doctor will recommend lifestyle changes as part of your treatment. Lifestyle changes include eating a low-fat and low-sodium diet, getting at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days of the week, quitting smoking, and limiting how much alcohol you drink.
Medications. If lifestyle changes alone aren't enough, your doctor may prescribe medications to control your heart disease. These could include medications to lower your blood pressure, such as diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or beta blockers; blood thinning medications, such as daily aspirin therapy; or cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins or fibrates.
Medical procedures or surgery. If medications aren't enough, it's possible your doctor will recommend specific procedures or surgery to clear the blockages in your heart. A common procedure is coronary angioplasty, which is performed by placing a catheter in an artery in your arm or groin and threading a small balloon to your blocked artery and inflating it to reopen the artery. A small metal coil called a stent is often placed in the artery during angioplasty. The stent helps keep the artery open.

Sometimes a more invasive procedure, coronary artery bypass surgery, is necessary. In this procedure, a vein from another part of your body — usually your leg — is used to bypass the blocked section of the artery.

Heart arrhythmia treatments
Depending on the seriousness of your condition, your doctor may simply recommend maneuvers or medications to correct your irregular heartbeat. It's also possible you'll need a medical device or surgery if your condition is more serious.

[HI]Vagal maneuvers. You may be able to stop some heart arrhythmias by using particular maneuvers, which include holding your breath and straining, dunking your face in ice water, or coughing.[/HI] Your doctor may be able to recommend other maneuvers to slow a fast heartbeat. These maneuvers affect the nervous system that controls your heartbeat (vagal nerves), often causing your heart rate to slow. Don't attempt any maneuvers without talking to your doctor first.
Medications. People who have a rapid heartbeat may respond well to anti-arrhythmic medications. Though they don't cure the problem, they can reduce episodes of your heart beating rapidly or slow down the heart when an episode occurs. It's important to take any anti-arrhythmic medication exactly as directed by your doctor in order to avoid complications.
Medical procedures. Two common procedures to treat heart arrhythmias are cardioversion and ablation. In cardioversion, an electrical shock is used to reset your heart to its regular rhythm. Usually this is done with paddles placed on the chest that can deliver an electrical shock in a monitored setting. You're given medication to sedate you during the procedure, so there's no pain. In ablation, one or more catheters are threaded through your blood vessels to your inner heart. They're positioned on areas of your heart identified by your doctor as causing your arrhythmia. Electrodes at the catheter tips destroy (ablate) a small spot of heart tissue and create an electrical block along the pathway that's causing your arrhythmia.
Pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). In some cases, your doctor may recommend having a pacemaker or ICD implanted to regulate your heartbeat. Pacemakers emit electrical impulses to quicken your heartbeat if it becomes too slow, and ICDs can correct a rapid or chaotic heartbeat using a similar type of electrical impulse as is used in cardioversion. The surgery to implant each device is relatively minor and usually requires only a few days of recovery.
Surgery. For severe heart arrhythmias, or for those with an underlying cause such as a heart defect, surgery may be an option. Because the surgeries to correct heart arrhythmias are open-heart procedures that sometimes require several months for recovery, surgery is often a last-resort treatment option.
Heart defect treatments
Some heart defects are minor and don't require treatment, while others may require regular checkups, medications or even surgery. Depending on what heart defect you have and how severe it is, your treatment could include:

Medications. Some mild congenital heart defects, especially those found later in childhood or adulthood, can be treated with medications that help the heart work more efficiently.
Special procedures using catheters. Some people now have their congenital heart defects repaired using catheterization techniques, which allow the repair to be done without surgically opening the chest and heart. In procedures that can be done using catheterization, the doctor inserts a thin tube (catheter) into a leg vein and guides it to the heart with the help of X-ray images. Once the catheter is positioned at the site of the defect, tiny tools are threaded through the catheter to the heart to repair the defect.
Open-heart surgery. In some cases, your doctor may perform open-heart surgery to try to repair your heart defect. These surgeries are major medical procedures and sometimes require a long recovery time. It's possible you'll need multiple surgeries over several years to treat the defect.
Heart transplant. If a serious heart defect can't be repaired, a heart transplant may be an option.
Cardiomyopathy treatments
Treatment for cardiomyopathy varies, depending on what type of cardiomyopathy you have and how serious it is. Treatments can include:

Medications. Your doctor may prescribe medications that can improve your heart's pumping ability, such as ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers. Beta blockers, which make your heart beat more slowly and less forcefully, help reduce the strain.
Medical devices. If you have dilated cardiomyopathy, treatment may include a special pacemaker that coordinates the contractions between the left and right ventricles of your heart, improving the heart's pumping ability. If you're at risk of serious arrhythmias, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) may be an option. ICDs are small devices implanted in your chest to continuously monitor your heart rhythm and deliver electrical shocks when needed to control abnormal, rapid heartbeats. The devices can also work as pacemakers.
Heart transplant. If you have severe cardiomyopathy and medications can't control your symptoms, a heart transplant may be necessary.
Heart infection treatments
The first treatment for heart infections such as pericarditis, endocarditis or myocarditis is often medications, which may include:

Antibiotics. If your condition is caused by bacteria, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. Antibiotics are given by an intravenous (IV) line for two to six weeks, depending on how severe the infection is.
Medications to regulate your heartbeat. If the infection has affected your heartbeat, your doctor may prescribe medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or beta blockers to help normalize your heartbeat.
If your heart infection is severe and damages your heart, you may need surgery to repair the damaged portion of your heart.

Valvular heart disease treatments
Although treatments for valvular heart disease can vary depending on what valve is affected and how severe your condition is, treatment options generally include:

Medications. It's possible your valvular heart disease, if mild, can be managed with medications. Commonly prescribed medications for valvular heart disease include medications to open your blood vessels (vasodilators), medications to lower your cholesterol (statins), medications that reduce water retention (diuretics) and blood-thinning medications (anticoagulants).
Balloon valvuloplasty. This procedure is sometimes used as a treatment for valve stenosis. During this procedure, your doctor threads a small tube through a vein in your leg and up to your heart. An uninflated balloon is placed through the opening of the narrowed pulmonary valve. Your doctor then inflates the balloon, opening up the narrowed pulmonary valve and increasing the area available for blood flow.
Valve repair or replacement. If your condition is severe, you may need surgery to correct it. Your doctor may be able to repair the valve. If the valve can't be repaired, it may be replaced with a valve that's made of synthetic materials.

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Jul 24, 2010
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Oh dear!

Firstly, maybe my original response was a little rude. Whats the point in saying what not to do if I don't say what you should do, right? I was cooking supper at the time though and my thought was 'oh no, not this again...'

Secondly, the thread appears to be a little confused now between Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) Cardiac Arrest (when the heart has stopped or is in a rhythm unable to sustain life), and cardiac arrhythmias (where the heart is not beating in the 'normal' sinus rhythm, which may or may not - dependant upon the rhythm, the circumstances, general health of the patient, other underlying medical conditions, patient history etc, require urgent treatment).

Lesley Jean is correct in quoting from the Mayo clinic in that some cardiac arrhythmias may revert to sinus rhythm ('normal' heartbeat) by carrying out supervised or taught vagal manoeuvres.

Anyway, I am preparing the lunch now but will find time tomorrow to post some straight forward advice, in addition to responding to the original posters comments on my post.

Thank you for reading,

Happy Easter, and don't eat too much chocolate!

lorraine x
 

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