First aid at arena defuses cardiac arrest

Bystanders revive 48-yearold hockey player

These things work very well. This is how we save people in cardiac arrest

Quick action on the part of bystanders and arena employees helped revive a 48-year-old man who went into cardiac arrest while playing hockey Saturday evening at the Minto Sports Complex on King Edward Avenue.

Bystanders began CPR immediately after the man collapsed just before 7 p.m., while others were directed by a paramedics communications officer to the nearest defibrillator inside the complex.

An employee of the University of Ottawa sports complex used the defibrillator to administer a shock to the patient, which resulted in him regaining a pulse, paramedics said.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics, who administered medication and continued resuscitative treatment as he was transported to the hospital.

Marc-Antoine Deschamps, acting operations superintendent with Ottawa Paramedic Service, said the patient was “doing pretty well” and had a fairly optimistic prognosis. That would not have been the case without the quick action of bystanders.

People who suffer from cardiac arrest have a window of just minutes before which the damage done to their systems is too much to recover from.

Deschamps said the socalled “Chain of Survival” which requires quick intervention from bystanders and easy to access defibrillators is aimed at saving the lives of people who go into cardiac arrest.

Not only are there more defibrillators in public places across Ottawa than ever before, but they have step-by-step instructions for use.

And, while people are encouraged to learn CPR, Deschamps said dispatchers can walk people through the process even if they are not trained.

“These things work very well. This is how we save people in cardiac arrest,” he said.

The patient was listed in critical condition when he arrived at the hospital.