How to Survive a Heart Attack when you are alone?

How to Survive a Heart Attack when you are alone?

Heart Attack is something very common these days, earlier, it was something found only in people of age group like late 40s or 50s, hardly we use to come across this problem in 20s and 30s age group. However these days due to changes in lifestyle and working environment, the trend has changed and due to which the heart attack cases in 20s and 30s have increased.
Generally the reasons for a heart attack could be –

• Excessive Smoking – Smoking is the major cause of arteries getting clogged, hence the blood pressure rises, resulting into a major cause of Heart Attack.
• Excessive Drinking – Alcohol raises your blood pressure, making you more prone to Heart Attacks.
• Getting angry very often is another reason for heart attacks.
• Getting stressed out.
• Losing control over your cholesterol level.
• Over exerting yourself, etc.

Mostly Heart Attacks are caused as a result of a condition known as – Coronary Artery Disease. In Coronary Artery Disease, a fatty material called plaque covers up the inside walls of the coronary arteries (these are the arteries which supply blood and oxygen to the heart). Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture, causing a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the part of the heart muscle fed by the artery. [Read More...]

Heart attack diagram

Now, it could be a Heart Attack, if suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw, and the situation worsens if you are alone at this moment.
What to do in this situation ?

• Do not panic, but start coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
• A deep breath should be taken before each cough; 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.
However, dont forget or delay your hospital visit after this. This information has been collected from various sites, and a session on heart care, which I got to attend recently.