A 64-year old man had a heart attack in the stands. It occurred as the Ottawa Senators faced the Montreal Canadians. The man might not survive if fellow fans did not help.
Lori Vanderlinden, who was seated in the 200 section at the Canadian Tire Centre during the game saw a man sitting nearby slump over his seat. Vanderlinden quickly ran over to the man and executed CPR. The man did not have a pulse and unresponsive.
Vanderlinden was assisted by Lars Thompson, a doctor who said that there were many people nearby with CPR training and ready to help. It was amazing since many people were willing to help and many knew CPR as well as the timely action of the medical staff.
Chain of survival
Upon the arrival of the paramedics, resuscitative drugs and shock was administered using a defibrillator before he was transported to the Queensway-Carleton Hospital.
According to an Ottawa paramedic spokesman, J.P. Trottier, before the man was transported to the health care facility, they were able to restore a pulse. He was still unconscious but managed to get a pulse.
The man was in a critical condition at the time but improved to a serious state on Monday. The chances of survival are higher if the chain of survival was followed. Without timely intervention of the bystanders, the man would not survive.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a class on CPR and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heart-attack/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cpr/basics/art-20056600