Did you know there is self CPR for when you are alone and get a Heart Attack!?

Since I have been a critical care RN for many years, this has actually happened to a rare few of my patients. Coughing and deep breaths minutely change the negative pressure within the chest cavity to produce minor pressures on the heart and lungs to actually produce your described effects. Although, not everyone can do this, since they faint first from either hypotension or cardiac arrhythmias. I have seen this happen especially on pts. with cardiac arrhythmias in ICU/CCU and it does work, however temporarily. Most medical personnel do not accept this theory and believe that it is a crock. Probably because they have not seen it done or disbelieve in it. I'm convinced that it does work.