If you’re referring to the viral claim “If you have a heart attack at home, do this in 10 seconds and you can save your life,” be careful: there is no proven 10-second trick that stops a heart attack.
🚨 If you think you’re having a heart attack
1. Call your local emergency number immediately. Don’t wait to see whether it goes away. Emergency medical teams can begin treatment on the way to the hospital.
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Mayo Clinic
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2. Stop what you’re doing and sit/rest. Avoid exertion while waiting for help.
3. Aspirin may be appropriate for some adults, but only if you’re alert and have no known aspirin allergy or other reason you’ve been told not to take it. Current AHA/Red Cross guidance allows 162–325 mg of chewable aspirin for appropriate adults with non-traumatic chest pain, but calling emergency services comes first.
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cpr.heart.org
4. If you have prescribed nitroglycerin, take it exactly as previously instructed. Never use someone else’s medication.
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Mayo Clinic
❌ Don’t do the viral “cough CPR”
You may see advice telling people to cough forcefully or repeatedly to keep the heart beating. The American Heart Association specifically says this isn’t an effective treatment for a heart attack and shouldn’t delay emergency care.
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www.heart.org
If the person becomes unconscious and isn’t breathing normally, that’s potentially cardiac arrest, which is different from a heart attack. Call emergency services, begin hands-only CPR (100–120 chest compressions/minute) and use an AED if one is available.
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Mayo Clinic
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Possible heart-attack symptoms: pressure/squeezing in the chest, pain spreading to an arm, back, neck or jaw, shortness of breath, cold sweating, nausea, or unusual dizziness. Symptoms can be less obvious in women, older adults, and people with diabetes.
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Mayo Clinic
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If this is happening to you or someone with you right now, don’t keep reading—call emergency medical services now.
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