The family members of a man who survived a near-fatal cardiac arrest at an airport are looking to meet the “awesome” woman who performed CPR to save his life.
A young woman rushed to the rescue of a 55-year-old man, identified only as Mr Law, after he collapsed at the domestic arrival hall at Kuching International Airport in Malaysia last Wednesday.
The woman immediately started performing CPR and continued doing so for 30 minutes while the airport staff used the automated external defibrillator and applied two shocks.
Cardiologist Dr Tang Sie Hing, who treated the patient, said in a Facebook post his family hoped to meet the “awesome young lady”.
He said the patient, who is from Sibu, complained of chest pain and stomach ache for three days after his trip to China. The man was travelling alone from Sibu to Kuching when he suddenly collapsed after exiting the domestic arrival hall.
The woman walking behind him immediately started performing CPR while assisting in the use of the automated external defibrillator, he added.
Mr Law was taken to the Sarawak General Hospital, about 8km from the airport, where a CT scan ruled out a brain haemorrhage. At the family’s request, the patient was transferred to a private hospital in Kuching.
Dr Tang said the patient suffered “a near-fatal cardiac event”. “A coronary angiogram showed two of his vessels were 100 per cent blocked and an ad hoc coronary angioplasty was done,” he said, adding that the patient’s heart has now been stabilised.
The man has regained full consciousness and did not suffer any neurological deficit, he added.
Dr Tang said the patient’s family and friends expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the woman for her timely effort, as “without her intervention, the outcome would be unimaginable”.
In another post, Dr Tang said the patient will be discharged on Tuesday and his heart function and heart rhythm was normal. “… most grateful is the complete absence of any brain defects or paralysis”, he added.
