Saved by an AED and CPR

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

The life-saving potential of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was demonstrated Tuesday night at Rice’s Track and Field Stadium when a 65-year-old man who was working out there suffered a cardiac arrest.

	Lisa Basgall, director of Rice EMS, displays the automated external defibrillator that was used to revive a man who suffered a cardiac arrest at Rice’s Track and Field Stadium Nov. 30.

Jon Warren, head coach for men’s track and field, immediately called for medical assistance and located a nearby AED, which some bystanders used in conjunction with CPR to revive the man while Rice EMS and the Houston Fire Department were en route. The man was transported to the hospital by ambulance and survived.

“He was lucky — all the pieces in the chain of survival fell into place,” said Rice EMS Director Lisa Basgall.

Rice employees and students who want to learn CPR and how to use an AED can sign up for one of the EMS training sessions held several times a month. To register, e-mail rems-cpr@rice.edu or check the calendar on the REMS website. CPR classes are free for all members of the Rice community.

Basgall noted that Rice EMS maintains 30 public-access defibrillators on campus. To find an AED that is near your classroom, office or college, go to the campus map, turn on the “Emergency Items” option at the top of the map and look for the heart-shaped icons for public-access defibrillators across campus.