Samaritans, AED intervened at F’ville gym before medics arrived

Michael Smith, who suffered a heart attack in November after working out at the World Gym in Fayetteville, knows he’s in elite company.

The heart surgeon who operated on him at St. Joseph’s Hospital told him only 2 percent of heart attack victims survive with no ill side effects at all.

“He said, ‘95 percent I don’t even talk to because they’re dead,’” Smith recalled. The remaining 3 percent suffer life-changing complications, of which Smith has none.

In fact, Smith has changed his diet and lost 35 pounds since November in his bid to become healthier and stave off another attack.

Last week Smith recalled how several samaritans, local paramedics and hospitals worked together to save his life.

He had just finished running two miles following a workout on weights, and was resting on a bench in the men’s locker room. Then Smith collapsed.

Several samaritans came to his aid, including a nurse and later a gym staffer hauling an Automated External Defibrillator which World Gym had purchased just for such emergencies. The device administered two shocks to Smith, re-starting his still heart.

Combined with gym member Ron Ward, employee Ryan Peterson and nurse Sonya Sartain providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR to breathe for Smith, he was in far better shape than many other heart attack victims are when paramedics first arrive on the scene, officials said. The AED delivered two shocks, which put Smith’s heart back into a regular rhythm before paramedics even arrived, officials said.

Then, Smith got super care at Piedmont Fayette Hospital and later at St. Joseph’s, helping round out a successful “system” that has been developed for cardiac care, explained Allen McCullough, deputy chief of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

For Smith the system that saved his life began well before his heart attack when Kim Hershey at World Gym decided to purchase an AED for the facility.

Officials also lauded the way that Fayette County trains its paramedics to be available at a moment’s notice armed with the knowledge to provide superior care.

“It is the training that we continually take for granted,” said Fayette County Commission Chairman Jack Smith.

Michael Smith said he was humbled by all the people concerned about him, not the least of which was his school family at Sara Harp Minter. When the principal announced he was in the hospital and a moment of silence was conducted, one third grade class dropped on their knees and prayed together on Smith’s behalf, he said.

About two months later, Smith was recovered enough from the open heart surgery and triple heart bypass to return to work. Occasionally he finds a way to joke about the incident.

Smith, who knows all the students at Sara Harp Minter by name, would have been missed at the school. He is also grateful for the opportunity to spend more time with his grandson, Jacob, who’s 5.

The samaritans who helped save Smith were the beginning of a “system” that has been developed to give appropriate care to heart attack victims, and Fayette County’s emergency service has been on the cutting edge of providing appropriate training and technology to help victims with cardiac problems.

As for the folks at the gym who helped him, Smith is tremendously grateful that they intervened. Emergency officials confirmed this is the second time a heart attack victim at the gym has been resuscitated and survived.

“It’s a great place to be when you have a heart attack,” Smith laughed.

A member of Harp’s Crossing Baptist Church, Smith firmly believes God has a reason for not taking his life, and one reason he wants to tell his story is so everyone can see God’s glory.

Smith also wants everyone to learn CPR and he encourages businesses to purchase AEDs to have on hand for other heart attack victims.

“God had everything in place,” Smith said. “If I was supposed to be dead I’d have died there on that floor.”

Fayette County has undertaken a campaign encouraging businesses and schools to purchase AEDs for just such emergencies. AEDs are located in many county buildings, from those as large as the justice center to the smaller buildings such as the Brooks recreation building. In addition, several county employees at each building receive special training on how to use the device.

It’s all a part of “Operation Heart Safe,” spearheaded by the county fire/emergency department and funded by the county commission.

Many Fayette schools also now have AEDs at the ready, in large part thanks to donations from community members and businesses. They are also present on many police cars and all fire trucks in the county because many times they are the first responders on the scene before an ambulance can get there, officials have said.

Smith noted that he didn’t feel bad immediately before the heart attack occurred. He didn’t feel dizzy or faint. That is a common occurrence, officials said, as heart attacks can strike without warning.

Heart attacks are most often caused by a heart rhythm that causes a chaotic quivering of the heart muscle, called ventricular fibrillation (VF). For every minute that a victim’s heart is in VF, the victim’s chance of survival decreases by 10 percent, according to statistics.

That’s where AEDs come in, officials said. The devices are simple to use, providing a diagram of where the electrodes should be placed on the patient’s chest. The device then measures the heart rhythm and if necessary, makes the determination whether a shock is needed to get the heart back into regular rhythm.

If a shock is warranted, the device uses a voice to warn bystanders to stand clear, and the person administering the aid is asked to press a button to actually administer the shock.

login to post comments