The city’s Emergency Medical Services branch is pointing to a recent incident as evidence that preparedness can save lives. EMS officials say a 59-year-old man participating in a downtown cycle spin class suffered cardiac arrest during the class. A fellow class participant, who happened to be a Seton Emergency Room nurse, performed CPR and used an Automated External Defibrillator, or AED, that was stationed at the gym and successfully restored his pulse. Austin-Travis County EMS continued treatment and transported the patient to the cardiac catheterization lab at the University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Doctors cleared the blockage and the patient was discharged the following day. In honor of this incident and others like it, Austin EMS officials are holding a survivor meet-and-greet at 10 a.m. today in the third floor conference room at the University Medical Center Brackenridge, 601 E 15th St. EMS will celebrate this CPR save through the use of a public AED device and promote the value of bystander CPR with public AED use for rapid responses to people suffering heart attacks.
Mark Richardson is a multimedia journalist, editor and writer who has worked in digital, print and broadcast media for three decades. He is a nationally recognized editor and reporter who has covered government,... More by Mark Richardson