When a medical emergency occurs, it usually happens without warning. In Ottawa’s Britannia Park, a man suffered a heart attack. He was lucky that there were 85 members of the Canadian Ski Patrol present who were upgrading their CPR training in the park.
According to Brian Chisamore, national CPR coordinator with the Canadian Ski Patrol, someone informed them that a person is dying outside in the park. There were almost 100 members that can check out the situation.
Timely assistance
The man was between 40-50 years old and was playing volleyball. He collapsed after the game and did not breath and without a pulse. The recertification course abruptly turned into a real-life emergency.
The patrollers brought one of the defibrillators to the man experiencing cardiac arrest. While waiting for the arrival of the paramedics, the ski patrollers delivered a shock using the defibrillator and delivered CPR.
Upon the arrival of the ambulance, the color of the man was returning which was the best outcome. According to Joe Micucci, commander of community medicine with Ottawa Paramedic Service, time is vital during heart-related emergencies.
According to Chisamore, the victim showed good vital signs by Sunday night and later set to be transferred to the Ottawa Hospital Heart Institute for follow-up care.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a course on CPR and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heart-attack/
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/qa/what-is-cardiopulmonary-resuscitationcpr