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Cough Medicine

In Dispute: Coughing forcefully may save your life if you're alone and having a heart attack.

Cough-CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a technique by which a still-conscious person in cardiac arrest may be able to maintain cardiac output for up to 90 seconds by forcefully coughing 30-60 times per minute. Limited studies under controlled conditions have demonstrated that the systolic blood pressure during cough-CPR can be actually greater than that generated by standard CPR (Miller et al, Cathet Cardiovasc Diagnos 1989 Nov 18:3). Coughing forcefully may also help revert a rapid arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) such as supraventricular tachycardia. However, the technique has doubtful practical usefulness. It would be useless or even dangerous in the case of faintness from other causes (eg stroke), or in a heart attack which is not accompanied by cardiac arrest. Cough-CPR is not endorsed by the American Heart Association or the Red Cross. A person who suspects they may be having a heart attack should summon assistance urgently, and take 300 mg of aspirin.

References:

• The AHA on cough-CPR
• American Red Cross Response to Cough CPR Inquiries