Golfer's Survival Story: Happenstance or Luck?

In October of 2021, a man went into cardiac arrest on the first hole at a golf and country club.  He doesn't remember falling out of the cart and hitting the ground with his face.  He woke up in an ambulance. Was it his lucky day?  

Someone called 911.  Someone ran for help.  A golfer at the nearby 18th hole heard the call "a man is down!"  She went into action.  She ran to assist.  She happened to be a nurse. Together with one of his golf partners, the two of them administered CPR. Two people came running with an AED.  One of them was the Club's Health and Safety Chair. The other was patron who happened to be a cardiac nurse.

What are the odds all these things would come together to save his life?  Was it luck or happenstance?  Twenty minutes earlier and the outcome probably would have meant death (this man's adult daughter passed just months earlier from suffering cardiac arrest while alone); a nurse hearing the calls ran to assist his golf partner with CPR; the Club had two well-placed AEDs; the Club's Health & Safety Chair was in close proximity along with a cardiac nurse; someone called 911 immediately; and an ambulance was not far away.  

Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating. Some 350,000 cases occur each year outside of a hospital (almost 80% being at home). The survival rate is less than 12 percentThe average response time for first responders is 8-12 minutes. The brain stops working about six minutes after the heart stops.  

Call 911.  Begin CPR. Use an AED. 

CPR will keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and heart but the only way to restore a regular heart rhythm during cardiac arrest is to use an AED. AEDs, when used during CPR, can nearly double the odds of survival.   

If you do not know how to administer CPR, the 911 operator can guide you.  If you do not know how to use an AED, the AED will provide you with simple computer generated voice and/or visual instructions.  

Check out our website for any of your AED needs at AEDMarket.com. Call us at 1-800-441-8378 or email us at info@aedmarket.com with your questions about which AED is right for your needs..