Welcome Spring!

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

Spring brings new adventures, whether it’s hiking, biking, or one of the other countless outdoor activities to do during spring in Oklahoma! While we’re all excited to soak up the season, it's important to be prepared for the unexpected. In Oklahoma that often brings with it spring storms, tornados, and wildfires. Getting prepared looks different for everyone based on their interests and activities, the makeup of their families, and other factors but some standard precautions include:

cleaning out the tornado shelter for use (spiders, rodents and serpents thrive in used spaces)
    ...or making a tornado plan if you don't have one
downloading weather alerts on your phone, 
    ...and/or purchasing a weather radio that doesn't depend on electricity working
register your storm shelter with local officials 
    ...(in OKC go here: https://app.okc.gov/applications/stormshelter/Forms/Welcome.aspx, 
    ...other localities have registries as well)
make a plan for your pets
    ...whether it's practicing getting them into the shelter when there isn't an emergency or kenneling
talk to all family members about your family emergency plan
    ...discuss wearing shoes when weather approaches, what each individuals responsibilities are
    ...discuss taking along time-sensitive emergency meds such as inhalers when seeking shelter
    ...discuss a meeting place in the event you somehow get seperated from one another
    ...discuss what families members should do if they aren't home and face threatening weather
keep a well-stocked first aid kit handy
    ...in the shelter is a great place to keep that, even if a second kit is kept within your home
stock your shelter with necessities
    ...bottled water, snacks, chargers for phones/weather radios, battery operated lights/flashlights
    ...seating for family, paper towels and/or wet wipes, activities or games to keep children busy
practice your tornado emergency drills just like you practice fire emergency drills

    ...practicing now allows small children, pets, and anxious older family members to remain calm

Once you've got your space and family prepared for weather threats, consider taking one of our CPR + First Aid classes to learn about outdoor emergencies that are more likely to occur during warm weather months. We discuss heat emergencies, insect bites and stings, snake bites, as well as sprains, broken limbs, bleeding emergencies, injuries to various body parts, recognizing and responding to shock, and recognizing other life-threatening medical emergencies like heart attacks, strokes, and choking.

We even offer Pet First Aid + CPR to help navigate those topics for your four-legged best friends that like to enjoy the great outdoors by your side. We also sell pet-specific first aid kits as well as those for the human variety, so we aim to be your one stop shop for first aid preparedness. Join us soon to check off an important educational opportunity that has the ability to save a life now or years down the road!

#CPRSavesLives #spring #springpreparedness #oklahomacitycpr #cpr #firstaid #petcpr

- Ginger Davis

Heartland CPR, llc

405-603-6666

www.HeartlandCPR.com

Social Media Isn't Always Right When It Comes to Healthcare Topics

Not a single month goes by that one or two well-meaning friends doesn't send me some variation of a viral social media post claiming that if you are alone and suspect you're having a heart attach, a perfectly timed and executed cough is the solution for someone experiencing a heart attack.  I usually find a way to humbly thank them for passing that along but I go on to explain that, like in many areas, social media healthcare advice has the ability to gain traction and take on a life of their own even when what is being shared over and over that is, simply put, a bad idea not at all based on science or backed by experts in the field...the time it takes to try to carefully orchestrate a cough at the exact right moment to be beneficial in this scenario would be much better spent chewing aspirin and calling 911.  

"Cough CPR" as it's called is simply a myth and definitely misleading many people.  This is not an area where you should gamble or waste time doing self-help quack medicine.  I could easily post dozens of links where this advice has been debunked and actual advice from real medical professionals, but you can see the vast number of results for yourself by typing "Cough CPR" into your social media or search browser.  

What  will share is the official statement from the American Heart Association, the definitive experts on the subjects surrounding this very wrong but often shared advice on the matter.

Misinformation has circulated for years on social media about how coughing forcefully can treat a heart attack. Health experts are quick to debunk that myth and warn that "cough CPR" is ineffective.

 Anytime anyone is having chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, get to a hospital. Calling 911 is the safest way to get to a hospital for chest pain," said Dr. Bryn Elissa Mumma, a professor of emergency medicine at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California.

The term itself is a misnomer because CPR is for someone in cardiac arrest, meaning the heart has stopped beating. At that point, coughing would not be possible, nor would it be considered CPR.

"It physiologically does not make sense," Mumma said. "(Coughing) just would not work to restart a heart that's not beating."

Heart attack and cardiac arrest are medical emergencies requiring immediate medical treatment, though it is important to note they are two different conditions. A heart attack is a circulation problem and occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked. Cardiac arrest is an electrical problem and occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. A heart attack is a common cause for cardiac arrest.

Someone who goes into cardiac arrest will become unresponsive and stop breathing or gasp for air. Cardiac arrest can lead to death if not treated within minutes.

Confusion about cough CPR might be traced to a temporary measure that may be used for a sudden arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, in medical settings in which patients are constantly monitored, such as a cardiac catheterization lab, said Dr. Manesh Patel, distinguished professor of medicine and chief of the cardiology division at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

During a sudden arrhythmia, a doctor or nurse may coach a patient to cough vigorously to maintain enough blood flow to the brain to remain conscious for a few seconds until the arrhythmia is treated. But this technique is not effective in all patients and should not delay definitive treatment, according to the American Heart Association.

The misconception about cough CPR and heart attack may be tied to an idea that coughing can change the pressure in the chest, and, in turn, affect the heart, Patel said.

"I think people believe that it is changing, somehow, the heart's squeeze. But (coughing) has not been shown to do that," he added. "If somebody has lost a pulse, we very much know that you have to do CPR."

Mumma, a co-author of the AHA's advanced life support guidelines update in 2023, said a literature review to prepare for that update did not yield any research about cough CPR.

"It's certainly not something that is recommended in those guidelines because there is no evidence to support it," Mumma said.

If you're around someone who has gone into cardiac arrest, call 911 and start hands-only CPR, Mumma said. This means placing the heel of one hand in the center of the chest at the nipple line. Place the other hand on top and interlock the fingers. Start pushing hard at a rate between 100 and 120 beats per minute.

Get an automated external defibrillator, or AED, if one is close by or send someone to find an AED, Mumma said. People should use an AED as soon as it's available. Even untrained people can use the device by following its voice instructions.

Because a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest, experts say it's critical to call 911 when symptoms start. These can include chest pain, jaw pain, shortness of breath, sweating and nausea.

Then sit and rest until the ambulance arrives, Mumma said. "Avoid exertion." An aspirin may help for those not allergic to it, she said.

She also said someone with a prescription for nitroglycerin for chest pain should take the medication.

But one thing people don't need to do, both experts said, is cough.

source: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2025/01/22/why-cough-cpr-is-not-the-lifesaver-its-made-out-to-be 

Don't be fooled because it sounds like a good idea or makes sense and please don't reshare it.  If everyone would stop doing that, it could go where other myths go to die.  I'm afraid with social media, we may still be helping to debunk this one long after our careers as CPR instructors are over.

#coughcpr #cpr #cprmyth #heartattack

- Ginger Davis

Heartland CPR, llc

405-603-6666

www.HeartlandCPR.com