Patient went into cardiac arrest at the Minneapolis airport. Other passengers witnessed the arrest and TSA workers performed manual CPR and applied an AED but it was not successful. Airport Fire First Responders placed him on the EleGARD™ Patient Positioning System nine minutes after his collapse and performed manual active compression decompression CPR (ACD CPR) with an impedance threshold device (ITD) followed by CPR with a LUCAS chest compression device. After a total of 12 shocks, and three rounds of epinephrine administered intraosseously, ROSC was obtained and he was transported to the hospital. He was found to have a totally occluded left anterior descending coronary artery (so-called widow-maker lesion) that was opened and stented. He was further treated with temperature management and five days later, boarded a plane for home, completely neurologically intact.

What is remarkable?
The survival rate for patients who develop cardiac arrest with refractory VF secondary to complete coronary artery occlusion is very low. Traditional CPR only provides about 15 to 30 percent of blood flow to the heart and brain, and it is even harder to circulate blood to the brain and heart when there is a completely occluded coronary artery. In this patient’s case, the combination of care including the EleGARD™ System, ACD CPR and the ITD was sufficient to support blood flow, enhance circulation and resuscitate the patient, who ultimately survived with full neurological function.

SEE TSA VIDEO OF PATIENT COLLAPSE HERE.
SEE VIDEO PRODUCED BY PATIENT AT 1-YEAR SURVIVAL ANNIVERSARY HERE.
READ MORE HERE.