Have you seen the viral social media post about how to save yourself in case of a heart attack and how to do self CPR? This bad medical advice is going to hurt someone.
As an emergency physician, I am here to tell you to STOP! Don’t follow this bad medical advice; if you see it on someone else’s page, let them know it is at best false, and at worst, dangerous. CERTAINLY don’t share it.
Here is my rebuttal to this ridiculous piece of misinformation. If I sound annoyed, it’s because bad medical advice is so dangerous yet so widely spread.
This viral bad medical advice post on social media starts with the scenario that you are driving, in the evening, and you start to have chest pains. You think you may be having a heart attack. It tells you that if you are driving and think you are having a heart attack, to do a list of things. PLEASE DO NOT DO THOSE THINGS!
Instead, what should you do if you are driving and think you are having a heart attack?
- Pull over to a safe place and stop driving
- Call 911
- If you have aspirin in the car, you can chew a full adult-size aspirin or 4 baby aspirin.
- Wait for professional help
The social media post tells you to start coughing.
What?
Doing this and the other things they suggest is not only NOT helpful, but can lead to hyperventilation which can make you pass out and crash your car. Additionally, while you are still driving, if you do pass out due to your “heart attack” or whatever medical issue you may be having, you are likely to injure or kill yourself or others. So, no matter what, STOP DRIVING (safely).
The dangerously bad medical advice in this post makes me need to go through each point one at a time to explain why they are wrong
- The post starts with: “ I have attended many CPR classes over the years, but was never told this… When you are alone and have a heart attack. What are you gonna do then?”
The reason you have never been taught how to perform self CPR when alone and having heart attack symptoms is because CPR is not about what to do if you have a heart attack. It is about what to do if someone’s heart stops or they stop breathing which may or may not have anything to do with having a heart attack.
If someone’s heart stops or they stop breathing, the person is unresponsive and not actually capable of doing any “self CPR”. They are, in fact, likely dead or near dead at the moment someone would initiate CPR if you are using it correctly.
2. The post goes on to say: “…Maybe you’ve taken CPR training, but the person running the course hasn’t told you how to help yourself. How do you survive a heart attack when you’re alone when it happens? A person who is feeling weak and whose heart is beating hard has only about 10 seconds before losing consciousness.”
Ok- so yes, chest pain radiating to the arm or jaw can be a sign of a heart attack, but the pain is not usually described as stabbing. Common heart attack symptoms include chest pressure or pain, dizziness, sweatiness, shortness of breath, as well as other symptoms.
But here is the thing, heart attacks don’t necessarily cause you to lose consciousness. They CAN cause that by causing a dangerous heart arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) or profound low blood pressure, but most people who have heart attacks do not come to the hospital unconscious, and in fact, the majority never lose consciousness.
The author writes, “A person who is feeling weak and whose heart is beating hard has only 10 seconds.” What??? That would mean that every time I exercise strenuously, when I feel weak and my heart beats hard, I lose consciousness.
If your heart is beating hard, in a normal rhythm, you aren’t about to pass out. If your heart is in an abnormal rhythm, there is the possibility you could pass out from that rhythm regardless of if you are having a heart attack or not. A heart attack is defined as low blood flow to an area of the heart and has nothing to do with whether or not your heart is beating hard or fast.
3. “But you can help yourself by coughing repeatedly and very strongly! Deep breaths before every cough. Coughing should be repeated every second until you arrive at the hospital or until your heart starts to beat normally.”
So, first of all, this is called hyperventilation and it is reasonably likely to make you pass out even if you are healthy! So please, please, please don’t do this while driving! It is seriously the most dangerous bad medical advice I can think of. Other than injecting bleach, I suppose.
I can’t begin to imagine who wrote this dangerously bad medical advice, and what sort of confusion they are having about the causes of passing out, but my GUESS is that they are talking about doing a Valsalva maneuver (forceful coughing or bearing down like you are trying to poop). The Valsalva maneuver CAN be useful in fixing one certain type of abnormal heart rhythm called SVT or Supraventricular tachycardia. Having said this, in several decades of practice, I have never seen anyone pass out from SVT, and it does not put a patient at high risk for sudden death. Other arrhythmias, like ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, can cause passing out or sudden death but are NOT treatable with the Valsalva maneuver.
4. “Deep breathing gives oxygen to your lungs and coughing movements boost the heart and blood circulation. Heart pressure also helps to restore a normal heartbeat. Here’s how cardiac arrest victims can make it to the hospital for the right treatment.”
Yes, breathing is good.
Oxygen is good.
However low oxygen from the lungs is not the problem in sudden death or heart attack. Sudden death is due to a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm and heart attack is due to a blockage in the arteries of the heart.
No amount of breathing is going to fix either of those things.
And by definition, cardiac arrest victims have already died and never make it to the hospital alive because to be in cardiac arrest, you are already dead. But if you cough really hard, nonstop, you can make yourself pass out from hyperventilation, so that’s fun.
5. ”Cardiologists say if someone gets this message and passes it on to 10 people, we can expect to save at least one life.”
Nope, nope, nope. They don’t say that. Not a single one says that.
6. ”FOR WOMEN: You should know that women have additional and different symptoms. Rarely have crushing chest pain or pain in the arms. Often have indigestion and tightness across the back at the bra line plus sudden fatigue.”
Yes, women and the elderly can have atypical heart attack symptoms including these but also including sweatiness, dizziness, confusion, shortness of breath, and others.
7. ”Instead of posting jokes, you’re helping save lives by spreading this message. ❤️ COPY (hold your finger, click on the text and select copy, go to your own page and where you normally want to write, select finger again and paste).”
No, by sharing this bad medical advice on social media, you aren’t helping to save lives. In fact, you are likely endangering them. Please don’t copy and paste this, and if you see it posted, let the well-meaning person who shared it know that this is bad information, and they should take it down. Let them know it is dangerous. You are welcome to share this post.
Again, if you are driving and think you may be experiencing a heart attack or any other serious medical event, please:
1. Safely pull off the road and park
2. Call 911
3. If you have it, chew a full adult-size aspirin or 4 baby aspirin (if you suspect a heart attack or stroke)
4. Stay in your car and wait for help
And finally, CPR is for OTHER people, not for yourself. Once you are on the verge of death, or actually dead, it is extremely difficult to do CPR. Please be wary of bad medical advice you see online.
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