SELF CPR

You are home alone after a long day’s work.

If you suddenly start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag out into your arm and up in to your jaw, you may be having a heart attack.   You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home but you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it that far.  First, CALL 911 and unlock                             the front door.

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE?

     Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. 

    However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and 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 coughingmovements 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. 

This information was sent to me by a friend two days after several other friends were talking about Self CPR.  And with several people in my world bringing attention to this, I  thought it necessary to share the info with my blog followers.

The symptoms mentioned appear to be for men since women can have other symptoms.  Nonetheless, coughing may save your life. 

Note:  I have also heard that people should chew an aspirin if they feel a heart attack coming on.  Unfortunately, sometimes the medicine is not readily accessible.  

Has anyone had any real life experience with Self CPR?  Please comment in the space below on the web version of The Mindful Files.

Flossing

I hate to floss. I have always hated to floss.  BUT, last year I decided that if I were going to save money, I needed to develop the habit of flossing.  After talking with the dental hygienist, I decided that my way of flossing, while not the best, was the one I could follow.  The 2015-2016 year was going to be an experiment.    The first checkup was good but the dentist told me I needed to floss every day;  I was only doing it a few times a week.  So, with new resolve, I started flossing every morning after brushing my teeth.  Again, not the optimal plan but better than nothing.  I am pleased to say that my next 6 month checkup was much better...keep doing what you are doing the dentist told me.

The point of this rant is the importance of prevention.  Since I no longer had dental insurance, keeping my teeth and gums in good health was necessary to keep costs down.  Yes, I have to pay for my dental checkups and for one cleaning per year and if I keep my teeth and gums healthy, I can save money in the long run by not having the expense of cavities, root canals, etc. 

While I can’t say, statistically speaking, that because I am flossing daily that my dental bills will be smaller over the long run, I can say that I feel virtuous because I am being proactive.  I am doing what I can to have healthy teeth and gums and perhaps to help ward off  heart disease.  The science is not making a correlation between healthy teeth and a healthy heart; however, there seems to be a link.  Could the link be habit related?  People who floss and have twice a year dental checkups may also exercise and eat better, thus reducing their chance for heart disease. So I start off my day with a healthy habit and plan to implement other healthy habits throughout the day.  Yes, plans can go awry.  I have noticed that since my new habit of flossing daily has become second nature, I am thinking more about other healthy habits.  Still working on moving from the thinking stage to the action stage – at least I’m thinking. 

What healthy habits do you have?  Have you tried overnight oats?  This is one of the easiest and most nutritious breakfasts I have ever made.  Google it and create your own variations.  Respond in the comment section on the web version….