Neo
MSU-ES Dawg Tracks
June, 2009
Cough-CPR/ A Simple Test for Hearts
Smile Test/ A Simple Test for Strokes
It’s been almost two years since we talked about Cough-CPR
and the Smile Test for stroke detection. Both of these subjects
keep recurring at times. The incident is that if you think that
you might be experiencing a heart attack, there is a method
that might help you to get to a hospital. They call it the
Cough-CPR, where you are supposed to breathe in real hard
and cough alternately. I spoke with representatives of the
Phillips Companies, who were demonstrating their AEDs,
(Automatic Electronic Defibrillators) at a safety seminar. The
gentleman was familiar and had the same documents on file
that I have concerning this Cough-CPR. He asked me to pull
up the American Heart Association on the computer and read
their comments on COUGH-CPR.
First of all, the American Heart Association does not endorse
COUGH-CPR. As noted in their textbook, Basic Life Support
for Healthcare Providers, the American Heart Association
DOES NOT TEACH THIS AS PART OF THEIR
CIRRICULUM IN ANY COURSE. During a sudden
arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), it may be possible for a
conscious, responsive person to cough forcefully and maintain
enough blood flow to the brain to remain conscious for a few
seconds until all the arrhythmia disappears or is treated. Blood
flow is maintained by increased pressure in the chest that
occurs during the forceful coughs. This has been mislabeled
“Cough-CPR,” although it is not a form of traditional
resuscitation. “Cough-CPR” should not be routinely taught in
lay-rescuer courses, because it would only complicate the
teaching of traditional CPR. It would add information that’s
not generally useful in a pre-hospital setting. In virtually all
lay-rescuer CPR courses, the finding that signals an emergency
is the victim’s unresponsiveness. This signals the rescuer to
begin the “A, B, C’s of CPR Unresponsive victims will not be