CPR Plus...             

The email goes something like this - "You're driving home alone after a hard day at work, and you start having chest pains.  The guy who taught you CPR didn't teach you how to do CPR on yourself.  So I'll tell you what to do.  Start coughing real hard and drive yourself to the hospital..."

First of all, having a heart attack doesn't automatically mean you are going to become unconscious (die).  We only do CPR on someone if they are, 1. unresponsive/unconscious and, 2. not breathing.  So if you're awake and driving a car, you do not need CPR done on yourself.     

Heart Attack

Your heart is a muscle.  Like all muscles, it needs a constant supply of blood.  There are several small arteries that supply oxygenated blood to your heart.  When the blood flow in one (or more) of the arteries is not enough to supply the required amount of oxygen to the heart, either as the result of sudden blockages or severe clogging (or both), a heart attack results.  The area after the blockage in the artery is not getting oxygen and begins to die.  The pain you feel during a heart attack is the heart muscle dying.  If left untreated, this area of the heart will die, and be permanently damaged.  This can result in minor to severe disability, or even death, depending on how much of the heart is affected (dies). 

Cardiac Arrest

Cardiac arrest = DEAD.  This means the heart is not pumping blood.  If the blockage in the heart is severe or in a very critical place, enough of the heart muscle can die that it will cause the heart to stop pumping blood.  This person needs CPR to help pump the blood through the body until advanced care takes over.  This person will not be driving a car - or coughing!

The Bottom Line

A heart attack is different from cardiac arrest.  Someone who is having a HEART ATTACK and is conscious, does not need CPR.  Someone who had a major heart attack, is in CARDIAC ARREST and unconscious, needs CPR.  A person in CARDIAC ARREST will neither be conscious nor able to perform cough CPR.   

If you ever experience chest pain while you are driving -  

DO NOT try to drive yourself to the hospital.  If you were to have a major heart attack, and become unconscious, you could crash and injure yourself or others...  You could get lost...  You could get stuck in a traffic jam!  Don't do it!

PULL OVER as soon as it is safe to do so.

CALL FOR HELP.  Call 911, or get someone's attention and ask them to call 911.