For years, social networking sites have been abuzz with false and misleading posts that delude people that coughing is able to save a person from heart attack.
However, this claim has appeared once more in the past few days, to confuse some users, and to provoke criticism from others
Perhaps the problem is that these publications are mostly indicative, deluding people that they are scientific, and directing them to claim that coughing and taking deep breaths help a person if he feels symptoms of a heart attack.
While experts warn, that similar means should be tried in some cases of heart problems, which may kill the patient, who must go to the nearest hospital for treatment.
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There is no connection between cough and heart attack
Doctors and specialists are also very alert to these attempts that may delay receiving treatment and kill the patient, according to what “AFP” confirmed.
In this context, Dr. Pietro Khair, a researcher and specialist in cardiothoracic surgery in Lebanon, said that there is no relationship between coughing and a heart attack, and there is no medical evidence that it may save the patient with a heart attack.
He also added, “A heart attack may cause death or damage to the heart’s muscles and cells, and this is a medical emergency that requires a quick visit to the nearest hospital for treatment.”
No home remedy
In addition, he warned that “nothing can be done at home, and the best way remains to seek help from anyone to take the injured to the hospital when he feels symptoms such as heaviness in the chest, sudden shortness of breath, sudden headache, fatigue and sometimes pain extending to the shoulder, arm and jaw.”
In turn, the British Heart Association confirmed that “there is no scientific evidence that coughing or the technique known as “cough CPR” in English may suppress a heart attack.
It is noteworthy that a heart attack occurs when the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart is blocked and the coughing that originates from the lungs cannot help clear this blockage.