# Hypothetical Situation: You Are Having A Heart Attack...... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185 "2009-01-20T19:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telcontar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Telcontar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telcontar)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/21 "2009-01-21T19:29:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Wow. No freakin’ way. Life may not be everything I had expected or hoped for but it’s still pretty darn good. Even in the heart of winter. I’m not dying yet if I can help it. I’m only 33, and there’s no second go-round, or so I believe. Same, though only 25. I LIKE life. Yes there are also people who’d miss me, work left undone, etc etc, but even setting all that aside I enjoy being alive. What’s the rush to move on? ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/22 "2009-01-21T20:49:32Z")
I’m 23. I still have some things to take care of. After that, then I can go. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/23 "2009-01-21T21:30:56Z")
If you had a toothache would you go to a dentist or just say, “It’ll stop hurting soon enough.” No matter what people here say what they’d do, with “Judgment Day Pain” they would opt to stop the pain, not wait it out… ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/24 "2009-01-21T21:36:58Z")
> [@Will\_Repair](#): > > If you had a toothache would you go to a dentist or just say, “It’ll stop hurting soon enough.” > > No matter what people here say what they’d do, with “Judgment Day Pain” they would opt to stop the pain, not wait it out.. On the contrary, many people who are having heart attacks ignore the pain or refuse to report it to anyone for possibly hours before, even those who may be fully aware that ‘Yes, I am in fact probably having a heart attack’. Denial is a powerful thing. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/25 "2009-01-21T21:50:15Z")
I’d like to think I wouldn’t call for help because I like to think I don’t mind dying, but I know in the moment fear would take over and I couldn’t help calling. I wanted to sign a DNR but the doc discouraged it for now and in any case I know I could/would override it if I were conscious. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/26 "2009-01-21T22:57:55Z")
**Jeff** , there’s a difference between angina and a killer heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/27 "2009-01-21T23:30:45Z")
> [@Will\_Repair](#): > > **Jeff** , there’s a difference between angina and a killer heart attack. Not really, it’s a spectrum. The difference between angina and heart attack is whether cells die or not, the difference between a little heart attack and the big one is how many cells die. There may, or may not be a correlation in pain. You’d be surprised how little a killer heart attack can hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/28 "2009-01-21T23:33:38Z")
I’d be thinking: “If I die now, someone else at work is going to have to go through my files and then they’ll realize how disorganized I am! And my closets are a mess, and I haven’t written my thank-you notes, and oh no someone’s going to find my porn…” My anxieties are what make life worth living. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/29 "2009-01-22T00:51:46Z")
> [@Will\_Repair](#): > > **Jeff** , there’s a difference between angina and a killer heart attack. You mean angina isn’t French for heart attack? Quelle suprise! Nobody here is talking about angina. Heart attacks are not always fatal, which makes the OP’s whole question puzzling. Its like responding to a broken bone in your arm by sawing off the limb with a breadknife. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/30 "2009-01-22T04:32:06Z")
> [@Jeff](#): > > On the contrary, many people who are having heart attacks ignore the pain or refuse to report it to anyone for possibly hours before, even those who may be fully aware that ‘Yes, I am in fact probably having a heart attack’. Denial is a powerful thing. There’s a snopes quote out there somewhere (but I am too lazy to provide link) that says if you feel you are having a heart attack, you should make yourself cough as strongly as possibly, hopefully in a rhythm. This will bring your heartbeat back into sync. Don’t get me wrong - I dig life and all that, but if it comes down to it, and there’s nothing I can do, then I will shuffle loose off this mortal coil. Start again or go to the eternal void, life is just life. We enjoy what we can and don’t try to control what we can’t. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/31 "2009-01-22T08:57:03Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > There’s a snopes quote out there somewhere (but I am too lazy to provide link) that says if you feel you are having a heart attack, you should make yourself cough as strongly as possibly, hopefully in a rhythm. This will bring your heartbeat back into sync. If I am found dead of heart attack, it will be with a power lead from a nearby appliance strapped to my chest in a vain attempt at making a defibrillator (I know, it won’t work. But I’d try **something** ) Si _who will not go gentle into that good night_ ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/32 "2009-01-22T09:17:42Z")
Depends on how suicidal I’ve been at that moment. If I’ve been having better times, then I’d probably try to do what I could to save myself. If not, I could easily see myself throwing in the towel. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/33 "2009-01-22T12:26:56Z")
At the outset, when the odds are good that I’ll survive, no. If I was in bad health and winding down, maybe. I’ve also made a promise to myself that should I get cancer, I’ll decide when the doctor stops treatment, not him; from watching my mother go. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/34 "2009-01-22T12:26:58Z")
Yeah, I think I probably wouldn’t call. I touldn’t believe it would be that bad, and I wouldn’t want to bother anyone for a minor problem that would pass. Then I’d be caught up in the experience, the observation of it. Then I’d sart wondering if there was, afterall, anything to follow, even though in my healthy moments I don’t believe in an afterlife. So I’d be pretty surprised if I did call for help. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/35 "2009-01-22T13:17:40Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Could **you** do it? Is it just me or is the OP implying that it’s some really ballsy, manly thing to be able to lie there and die? I’m sure I **could**. I’ve had four babies with no pain medication. But besides not wanting to leave them motherless, my thoughts would be along the lines of “Fuck it, I’ve had a good life and I want MORE of that” Certainly I can see myself sometime in the future sensing this was my “time to go” and relaxing into the pain, but what if it’s like the Indian grandfather in “Little Big Man” who decides “today is a good day to die”, sets up a whole ritual death site, lies there, doesn’t die, gets rained on, eventually gets up. Like previous posters have said, there 's a lot of potential for feeling stupid. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/36 "2009-01-22T19:42:09Z")
Umm, I know the OP is assuming a guarantied fatal heart attack but, > [@](#): > > [Heart Attack and Angina Statistics](http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4591) > > Final 2004 statistics for the United States show that coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single leading cause of death in America. CHD causes heart attack and angina. > > ``` > * Mortality — 451,326 deaths in the United States in 2004 (one of every five deaths). > * Incidence — 1,200,000 new and recurrent coronary attacks per year. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities [ARIC] Study and Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). About 38 percent of people who experience a coronary attack in a given year die from it. > > ``` > [@VunderBob](#): > > At the outset, when the odds are good that I’ll survive, no. … > [@](#): > > [Surviving a Heart Attack](http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime/saha/saha.htm) > > How do you survive a heart attack? Fast action is your best weapon against a heart attack. Why? Because [clot-busting drugs](http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime/aha/thrombo.htm) and other [artery-opening treatments](http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime/aha/spepro.htm) can stop a heart attack in its tracks. They can prevent or limit damage to the heart–but they need to be given immediately after symptoms begin. The sooner they are started, the more good they will do–and the greater the chances are for survival and a full recovery. To be most effective, they need to be given ideally within 1 hour of the start of heart attack symptoms. If your not certain your going to be in the 38% group, and it’s not possible to be certain, this is like playing Russian roulette with two live rounds and four “fuck you up … but leave you alive” ones. I don’t see the up side to not getting help. CMC fnord! After watching my Grandmother die in slow motion for multiple years, I totally get the appeal of suicide. But, ya kinda want to have a plan that removes the possibility of just making the whole thing worse. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/37 "2009-01-25T05:19:57Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > Is it just me or is the OP implying that it’s some really ballsy, manly thing to be able to lie there and die? No, I’m not implying that. Just asking a question, and I’m not suicidal - very much hanging in there still, but if you **knew** this was the one, could you let it take you. Q ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/38 "2009-01-25T05:41:43Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > No, I’m not implying that. Just asking a question, and I’m not suicidal - very much hanging in there still, but if you **knew** this was the one, could you let it take you. > > Q As you put like that, I had a similar experience as a kid – thoough it was based more on ignorance than anything else. Basically, I took a fall and landed on my chest and face. (My hands were busy failing to grab at something behind me to stop the fall.) My chest muscles were briefly – spasmed, paralysed, whatever – and when I tried to breathe, I couldn’t. And I tried again and again, and I still couldn’t. I have a clear memory still – and this is like 40 years ago, I was about 10 at the time – of “realizing” that I was going to die, and accepting it and relaxing. And then I could breathe again, and I lived, to my great surprise. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/39 "2009-01-25T05:49:40Z")
yes, i think i couild. ---
**Author:** ![Aquila\_Be](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185/40 "2009-01-25T12:39:03Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > … or let’s say **I** am having a heart attack, (and being in the medical field (IANAD) I know all the signs and symptoms) and at the risk of sounding morbid, I think I could say “Fuck it, I’ve had a good life, go ahead and take me”, instead of calling for help. > > Could **you** do it? Or do you think that maybe I could **not** do it? > > Q You know all the signs and symptoms? Maybe you do, but only in the text book sense. According to accounts from the 40% or so of people who survive their first heart attack there’s a lot of pain, trauma and panic involved with the actual event. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-situation-you-are-having-a-heart-attack/482185.md?page=1)