Why Couldn’t Eric Garner Breathe?

New York, NY, December 15, 2014 --(PR.com)-- In his latest article, “Why Couldn’t Eric Garner Breathe?,” prominent Los Angeles medical practitioner and media personality, Dr. Joseph Chambers who, like Garner, suffers from Asthma, says that forcing Garner onto his belly with his hands pulled behind his back was a life threatening posture for the morbidly obese Asthma sufferer. “Law enforcement needs to be educated about the role that this condition may play as they decide on a course of action during an arrest,” says Chambers.

“In asthma, the problem is in expiration,” Chambers continues. “It’s not that we asthmatics can’t get a breath in, we can. It’s getting the breath out that is our problem. Throw in Eric’s morbid obesity and the ‘police action’ — now you’re getting the full picture. He literally had hundreds of pounds weighing on his lungs stopping them moving air in or out. Small wonder he cried out over and over and over a full eleven times, ‘I can’t breathe’. He couldn’t.”

“You see, it’s instinctive when you’re short of breath to sit upright and lean forward,” Chambers writes. “This way your ‘respiratory apparatus’ lines up optimally…Think of it this way: after you’ve run around the block several times, you wouldn’t lie on your belly with your arms behind you to catch your breath.”

See the full article at DrChambersOnCall.com. You can also listen to the accompanying Dr. Chambers On-Call podcast episode, Why did Eric Garner Die?

DrChambersOnCall.com supports The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America to help educate and advocate on issues relating to Asthma, promoting prevention, improved access to care, and increased funding for research.