Let’s say it is 5:15 p.m. and you are driving home alone after a hard day of work. You are tired, frustrated and stressed.

Suddenly you start having severe chest pain that starts to branch out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only seven miles from the hospital, and unfortunately, you don’t know if you will be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the instructor did not tell you how to perform it on yourself. So, what do you do?

Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, the person whose heart is improperly beating and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing conscious. Knowing how to make every beat count when you are alone is very important.

Here are three tips on how to survive a heart attack when alone:

1. Do not panic, but start coughing repeatedly and very vigorously or forcefully.

2. Take a deep breath before each cough.The cough must be deep and prolonged or lengthened (i.e. when someone has a chest cold and he/she coughs to get the sputum from deep inside the chest).

3. A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without stopping until help arrives or until the heart begins to beat normally again.

Deep breaths allow oxygen to get into the lungs and coughing movements squeezes the heart and keeps the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps to regain its normal rhythm. By following these three tips, you can survive a heart attack alone and make it to the hospital. Recognizing the signs of a heart attack and acting immediately will increase a person’s chances of surviving.

According to the 2009 State of the County Health (SOTCH) Report for Sampson County, a total of 701 residents died from heart disease from 2003-2007. Of those 701 residents, 125 of them died from heart disease in 2007. Sampson County’s heart disease mortality rate of 193.7 slightly exceeds the State rate of 193.0, with Caucasian males demonstrating the highest rate of 315.1 of heart disease and the minority males following close behind with a rate of 280.3.

Don’t worry men. You can prevent a heart attack by lowering your risk factors of coronary artery disease (CAD). Even if you already have CAD, you can take steps to lower your risk of having a heart attack. To reduce your risk you must make healthy lifestyle changes such as following a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables, reducing your salt intake, losing weight if you are obese or overweight, quitting smoking and increasing your physical activity to get your heart rate up.

For American Heart Month, the Sampson County Partners for Healthy Carolinians will be raising awareness about heart disease by asking all Sampson County residents to Wear Red on Friday, Feb. 5, all churches to Wear Red on the Sunday of your choice in February and by asking hair salons, barbershops and other organizations to place heart disease information within their facilities.

The Sampson County Health Department, will also offer CPR classes and heart disease programs to the general public. The CPR class will be offered on Friday, Feb. 26, at 8 a.m. The class is $50 per person. The heart disease presentations are offered free of charge. For more information or to sign-up for the class please contact Veronica Murphy, PHEII, at 910-592-1131or visit the Sampson County Partners for Healthy Carolinians website at www.scpfhc.org.