Survivor Stories
Sudden cardiac arrest survivors share their stories and express the value and importance of AED accessibility.
Profile of a Survivor: Purnanshu Mehta
On April 9, 2002 Purnanshu Mehta was on the way to an appointment when he collapsed in the street outside his workplace. A coworker on his lunch break and a stranger began CPR while another passerby called 911. Within 10 minutes, the paramedics arrived and, using an automatic external defibrillator, shocked his heart to get it beating again.
Although Mehta regained consciousness in the emergency room of GW Hospital, he was in critical condition. Mehta, then 52, had suffered sudden cardiac arrest. With little warning, his heartbeat abruptly stopped due to a malfunction in his heart's electrical system. Physicians at GW determined that he had a major blockage at the junction of three of his coronary arteries and in a matter of hours, Mehta was undergoing heartbypass surgery.
"I was in the hospital for four days and then recovered at home for seven weeks," he says. "It was a hard recovery, but now I feel very good." In the seven years since he suffered sudden cardiac arrest, Mehta, a civil engineer for the DC Metro system, has returned to a diet more like the one he grew up on in India. "I was hooked on cookies. I ate them every day for years. But not anymore." He has also eliminated most prepared and fried foods, opting instead for vegetables, fruit, and grilled chicken or fish. "I allow myself a cookie about once every six months. Changing my diet, exercising regularly, and taking my medications, all together, have raised my good cholesterol and lowered the bad cholesterol," says Mehta. "This is a second chance at life," says Mehta. "I'm taking better care of myself this time."
Profile of a Survivor: Jacquelyn Carter
Most people cannot claim that going to work is a life-saving experience, but for Jacquelyn Carter, working at the U.S. Department of Labor was just that. On January 3, 2003, Carter returned to work after a holiday vacation. It was that afternoon, in the restroom at the Labor Department, that she became unresponsive after slumping and falling to the floor mid-conversation with a co-worker. Her co-worker acted quickly, calling the security guard and nurse to the scene. The nurse arrived with an automated external defibrillator (AED), upon the co-worker's request, and began using the AED while the security guard administered CPR.
When the ambulance arrived, Carter's heart was pulsating, just enough to keep her alive until arriving at GW Hospital. Fortunately for Carter, the Department of Labor's Health Unit Staff had been trained to use the AED. "If it wasn't for the AED, I wouldn't be alive today," said Carter. "Any place where people gather should have an AED." Upon arriving at GW Hospital, Marco Mercader, MD, treated Carter and performed emergency surgery to insert an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) under her left collar bone. After her recovery, Carter returned to work, where U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao hosted a luncheon to thank everyone who was involved in conducting the expedient life-saving procedures for Carter. Also, Emily S. DeRocco, assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration wrote a letter thanking the individuals in Carter's division who were instrumental in assisting both she and her daughter, June Carter, through the crisis.
Today, Carter compares the AED to a fire extinguisher. "Who's to say when a fire might take place, and the extinguisher should be there all the time, just in case it's needed. It is also a life-saver." Now, five years later, Carter recently had a new ICD implanted, and is enjoying her retirement because of the individuals who saved her life.