Heart Attack

Full Fact provides independent, evidence-based fact checks about heart attacks and related health claims.

We investigate misinformation about symptoms, causes, prevention and treatment—drawing only on reliable medical evidence and guidance from trusted bodies such as the NHS, NICE and the British Heart Foundation.

Each article is reviewed for scientific accuracy and explains where claims are unsupported or misleading.

17 October 2025

Coughing hard won’t save you from a heart attack if you’re alone

Incorrect social media posts claiming coughing really hard can help a heart attack are circulating online again.

22 December 2023

Coughing does not protect you during a heart attack

People having a heart attack should call an ambulance immediately. The idea that they should cough to protect themselves is a common myth that’s been spreading for more than 20 years.

1 September 2023

Telegraph mixes up heart attacks and cardiac arrests

The newspaper mistakenly referred to people having heart attacks when discussing access to public defibrillators. The devices should be used in cardiac arrests only—a different condition.

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30 May 2023

Sadiq Khan did not have a ‘minor cardiac arrest’ at climate conference

The Mayor of London’s new book recounts a health scare in 2021 which may have been a heart attack. Some reports mistakenly called this a cardiac arrest, which is a different condition.

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31 January 2023

Vaping harms overstated in viral video

A widely shared video on TikTok and Instagram exaggerates and misrepresents the risks of vaping.

11 January 2023

‘Cor ona virus’ doesn’t mean ‘heart attack virus’ in Latin

A screenshot from Google Translate appears to show the translation, but this isn’t the meaning of the words in Latin.

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29 July 2022

Vigorous coughing will not save you during a heart attack

Advice that coughing vigorously could save you in the event of a heart attack is incorrect and could make things worse.

22 July 2022

No evidence Covid-19 vaccines causing heart attacks in children

A Facebook post misleadingly suggests that the vaccines are causing all sorts of previously rare health problems, including heart attacks in children.

7 July 2022

Articles about heart attack risks do not show causality

A collection of articles reporting on possible links between certain factors and heart attacks do not show “you can’t do anything without risking a heart attack”.

1 March 2022

Collection of heart attack articles includes one fake

A list of things that can cause heart attacks “in 2022” includes one fake article and another from 2010.

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Heart Attack

Coughing hard won’t save you from a heart attack if you’re alone

Coughing does not protect you during a heart attack

Telegraph mixes up heart attacks and cardiac arrests

Sadiq Khan did not have a ‘minor cardiac arrest’ at climate conference

Vaping harms overstated in viral video

‘Cor ona virus’ doesn’t mean ‘heart attack virus’ in Latin

Vigorous coughing will not save you during a heart attack

No evidence Covid-19 vaccines causing heart attacks in children

Articles about heart attack risks do not show causality

Collection of heart attack articles includes one fake

Full Fact fights bad information