Dr. Oz gave Inside Edition some useful tips on what could save your life.
If you believed you were having a heart attack, would you know what to do?
Inside Edition spoke to cardiac surgeon Dr. Oz, who dished out some tips that could help save your life.
Read: Witness Recalls Alan Thicke's Final Moments: 'We All Thought He Was Going to Be OK'
First, it's important to call 911 if you're able, to ensure the quickest response from emergency workers.
Secondly, Dr. Oz advises the patient to lie down, "so when you collapse, you don't hurt yourself and your heart gets to relax a tiny bit because it's not pumping extra blood."
Third, chew on an adult aspirin if it's possible.
“Aspirin is really helpful," Dr. Oz said. "Chew it — don't swallow it. That way it's in your mouth and quickly absorbed and thins the blood so the blood clot forming in your body can't complete,” he said.
The advice is especially timely after the death of TV dad Alan Thicke, who suffered an apparent heart attack Tuesday while playing ice hockey in Los Angeles.
Dr. Oz says the cold temperature in the rink may have contributed to Thicke's sudden case of cardiac arrest.
“When you’re in a cold place, an ice rink, your arteries are squeezed up like that. Then you get on the ice and warm up and your heart isn't ready yet. It's a bad combination. That's why as a heart surgeon this is my busiest time of year. We have 50 percent more heart attacks in the wintertime than the summertime,” he said.
Thicke was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center — just one mile away from the rink — where he was pronounced dead. He was 69.
