A Second Chance
Surviving Sudden Cardiac Death

 

It was a cold January morning in the skies over Minnesota when, suddenly, in an airplane at 30,000 feet, Patrick Emmett feels a discomfort in his chest then a numbness in his hands and pain in his right shoulder.  The flight attendant asked if he needs assistance and then he collapses into a Sudden Cardiac Arrest and dies on the spot.  Only through the quick thinking of airline personnel and two passengers on the plane are they able to get Pat out of his seat and onto the floor so they can begin CPR and eventually deliver a shock from an Automatic External Defibrillator.  The book; A Second Chance, Surviving Sudden Cardiac Arrest looks at the dramatic events that led up to Pat’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest and the struggles with recovery after the event.   

Pat tells a compelling story to encourage readers to change their current lifestyles and to become actively involved with providing information to the public about heart health and sudden cardiac death.  In the United States alone nearly 400,000 people collapse from sudden cardiac arrest each year.  Only 6% of them are rescued.  Someone intervened in every case to rescue a survivor.  That ratio of saves can be dramatically improved with public awareness, testing and placement of AED’s in all public places. 

The book also has a medical quick reference guide to wade through the many medical acronyms and jargon common to heart disease.  The book is a must read for anyone interested in heart health and saving lives.