I'm currently on a flight from San Diego to JFK and the FA just came on a few minutes ago asking for any Dr on board to come up to first class. No one came. Someone is lying on the floor up near 1B 1C and a second flight attendant just dropped the oxygen cannister.

They called again for anyone with medical training to come up and several people came up to FC to help but they are all standing just looking down.

This makes me wonder about what options you really have at 40000 ft when something goes wrong.

It all depends on what the problem is as to what your options are. If you have a ruptured aortic aneurysm, you're in trouble. If you have ventricular fibrillation and they put the automatic defibrillator on you, you have a chance. If you're just having a hyperventilation spell, you'll survive whether anyone helps or not.

In general, the options at 40000 feet are not good if you have anything seriously wrong. But, they're not good if you're driving a car in rural Wyoming when it happens, either.

On the ground - you'd get access to EMT with a call to 911. Do you know if flight attendants get anything more than CPR / defib training ?

Things have calmed down a bit and the person was returned to their seat. All the FA's are still gathered up front talking.

As far as I know FA's only get basic CPR / AED / First Aid training. They can connect over radio link to a service run by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and have trained medical personnel talk them through an event.

Cannot always depend on 911 access and even if so not necessarily timely. There still are risks in life.

which is basically the only training an EMT-B has....

Which is exactly the best reason not to get on a plane if you feel really crappy.

You are relying on any medically trained people onboard to diagnose and treat you without much equipment or tests available (not to disparage the help the FA can give). (All that said, the medical kit onboard now, is a whole lot more than it was just 6-7 years ago, when I was handed the kit, and the stethoscope fell apart in my hands.)

I was going to say: We do have a Doctor on the board, just not on-board..

We had a pax have a stroke in flight ORD- TPA last year (not on DL (i know, sigh)), but fortunately that time there was a doc on board. There wasn't all that much the doc could do, though, other than administer oxygen, do vital signs, etc. We made an emergency landing in ATL where paramedics rushed on board. It was pretty serious stuff.

I was on a DL flight HOU-ATL a couple of years ago and a passenger in the back of the plane had his blood pressure dip dangerously low to the point he was lapsing in and out of conciousness. The FAs called for anyone with medical training to help and a couple of nurses did, but the pilots still decided to land in BHM to get him off the plane and get him an ambulance. By the time we got down to BHM he was doing better with the lower altitude and actually refused to get off the plane - local LEO's had to come escort him to get medical attention. The two FA's seemed pretty new and shaken up by the incident - the nurses were a big help but it's definitely a crapshoot when it comes to having healthcare pros in the air with you.

My understand is that this is a pretty well thought out program. Of course, they still have limited resources plus are limited to what can be told to them (although I suppose a video link is possible these days). I think they are basically deferring to UPMC whether or not to divert the plane.

It is always amazing how fast you can spiral out of the air once they decide to make an emergency landing. I've been on 2 flights in the last few years with this. Last time the guy dropped in my lap in a RJ. If you are going to have medical issues, do not do have them in a RJ

I had a guy drop into my lap on a full sized plane a number of years ago. Diabetic issues and he was okay afterward, but certainly woke me up quickly!

I am a surgeon and have been called 5 times to respond to medical situations while in flight. I can tell you resources are limited. One guy passed out twice before we pushed back and then was ticked off when I told the pilot he should not fly. Also three times Delta has made me fill out tons of paper work after?? Another time I was patched through to the Mayo Clinic to help with a guy having difficulty breathing. It is difficult at best to deal with these problems in the air.

You have had tons of paperwork to fill out????

All the times (at least 8-10) I have responded, I have only had to fill out a lengthy form one time! The form I have to fill out to book a surgical case (yes, I too, am a surgeon) is longer than the "paperwork" on the flight. It seems the Purser is the one that has to fill in tons of paperwork. Last time in Feb this year, I didn't fill out a thing.