It's a nightmare thought, isn't it? I took a baby CPR class when I was pregnant. I know how to help my daughter if she chokes, drinks poison, gets a burn, breaks an arm or encounters a bee.

I have no idea what I'm supposed to do if something happens to me. And me is usually the person in charge. And that's scary. Let's educate ourselves.

There has been some stuff going around the Internet about "Cough CPR."

Here's the gist, excerpted from what I was sent:

If you experience a heart attack (usually severe pain in the chest, perhaps radiating up to the jaw), you may only have 10 seconds before you lose consciousness.

COUGH. COUGH HARD. LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO BRING SOMETHING UP.

Take a deep breath before each cough, as deep as you can, then cough as deeply as you can. Repeat this every two seconds while dialing 911 or signaling for help.

The benefits listed by the presentation were that the breathing gets you oxygen and the coughing provides compression and circulation. The benefit that occurred to me is that your child (if, God forbid, he or she is with you when this happens) has seen you cough before and will probably not be as frightened by a coughing fit than a parent who suddenly faints after clasping a hand to the chest.

That seems pretty easy to remember, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, the American Heart Association begs to differ:

The American Heart Association does not endorse "cough CPR," a coughing
procedure widely publicized on the Internet. As noted in the 2005
American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, the American Heart Association DOES NOT TEACH THIS AS PART OF THE CORE CURRICULUM 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 the arrhythmia disappears or is treated. Blood flow is maintained
by increased pressure in the chest that occurs during forceful coughs.
This has been mislabeled "cough CPR," although it's not a form of
traditional resuscitation.

The AHA suggests, instead, learning the early warning signs and immediately dialing 911. Teach the kids how to do it when they are old enough, but warn them they will be taken away to PRISON if they abuse it. (This isn't necessarily true, but enough stress can not be put on not calling 911 in a nonemergency.)

We all know we should watch our cholesterol and get exercise and eat healthy, but sometimes heart attacks, like everything in the health category, don't play by the rules. Bean's Mom writes:

It's almost a year since I had my heart-attack. They couldn't find any 'reason' for the attack. They just said, "yep, you had a heart attack.' In the chart is sez, 'undetermined cardiac event.'

Yikes. So no, I'm totally not trying to go all Fox News on you and scare you, but since this advice seems fairly easy to remember and is so important, I think it's worth sharing. And while we're at it, here's how to recognize the signs of a stroke:

• Stroke sign #1: Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg -- especially on one side of the body
• Stroke sign #2: Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Stroke sign #3: Sudden vision trouble in one or both eyes
• Stroke sign #4: Sudden difficulty walking, loss of balance or coordination, dizziness
• Stroke sign #5: Sudden severe headache with no known cause

You may have seen that e-mail going around with three tests - just know that while those three tests are good, just because you or whomever you think might be having a stroke can talk or raise their arms doesn't mean nothing is wrong. If you think you might be having or have had a stroke, think of your kids and get thee to the doctor immediately. As in, no waiting. Same day.

Adults aren't the only ones having heart attacks these days, either. Certain kids, including those with high cholesterol and those who have had cancer, are also at risk. From Health MOZ:

It seems unfair, but it has recently been proven - children who survive cancer in early childhood go on to be at a hugely increased risk of heart disease. A 20-year study by the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study has recently been completed, and it has found that those who survived child cancer were up to 10 times more likely to have atherosclerosis, 6 times more likely to have heart failure, and 5 times more likely to have a heart attack than those who had a cancer-free childhood.

Don't be scared, just be educated. Good stuff to have rattling around in the brain files.

For more information, check out Catherine Morgan's recent discussion of the science behind heart disease.