A heart attack mid-flight
 

I was half-dozing and listening to music on a flight last week, when I heard the FA make an announcement and asked if any medical personnel on board would identify themselves. I opened my eyes and saw a commotion two rows back, on the opposite side of the plane.

I took out my ear buds and gathered that the elderly lady there was having a heart attack. Luckily, there were two paramedics and a nurse on board who looked after her. She never lost consciousness, and they didn't end up diverting the plane (they talked about that for a bit, but we were probably only about a half hour away from our destination by the time they finished the debate and decided to continue on).

We waited until the paramedics came on the plane, assessed her, stabilized her, and took her off on a stretcher. It looked like she was going to be ok.

I saw how calm the FAs were at the time, but how rattled they looked as we were leaving. Anyone else have a medical emergency mid-flight? That was a first for me.

I hope she's doing ok...

I remember reading a story (at least 10 years ago) about a British Airways flight from LHR to NRT in which the pilot suffered a fatal heart attack. Fortunately there were two pilots in the cockpit, so the co-pilot took over. I seem to recall that they proceded to Narita without diverting. I wonder if they announced that event to the passengers.

I know my story is not travel related, but last spring, one of my customer when for his medical. While doing the EKG test, on the threadmill, he had a massive heart attack and he felt dead on the machine.

Through defebrilator and after 5 minutes, the personel at the hospital brought him back to life.

The doctor told him later, that if he had got the heart attack in the parking lot of the hospital they would not have saved him. THe only reason he survived is because they had immediate access to the right equipement and personel. The 60 seconds it would have took in the parking lot would have been too long!

I had one a couple of months ago on a SAN-MSP flight.

I was in an exit row on an A320 (say, row 11?) and a lady way in the back had some sort of issue... they asked for docs/nurses/EMTs etc... well.. after flying some more, the Capt came on the PA and said we were making a landing in DEN.

So we made the landing in DEN and then headed back up towards MSP.

What's interesting was that I was talking to a LAX-based off-duty FA who was going to MSP for a work meeting and he said that 'in my 17 years of flying for NW, I have never been on a plane that was diverted for a med emergency."

I had a guy pass out on a flight from ORD to LAX last summer. I was in the window seat and he was in the middle. He started to rest his head on my shoulder and I pushed it back. He rested his head on the other PAX who got quite indignant and tried to wake him. He couldn't.

He went for a FA who came back and tried to wake him. She couldn't either. I thought he was seriously drunk. After a while he was able to say his name but quickly went unconscious again. Since we were just 30 min from landing we went right in and paramedics were waiting.

They carried him off on a stretcher while we waited.

I hate when medical emergencies happen on aircraft that I'm flying in. No offense to the person suffering, but it sure has the potential to delay the flight.

The whole point of training for emergencies is to be able to react intelligently, quickly and appropriately while it's happening. What happens later is irrelevant.

Yikes. This is one of those situations that brings a chill up your bloodstream. But luckily it looks like the lady will be fine!

The larger intercontinental aircraft have a surprising range of medical equipment on board.

If something serious seems to be happening the CSD will call for any medical experience from passengers. Almost unknown for no one with doctor/nurse experience to be on board, by the way.

Flight deck will contact their operations centre and be patched through to Medilink, a worldwide organsiation with a 24x7 response centre based, I believe, in Phoenix, Arizona, and staffed with aviation-knowledgeable doctors. In conjunction with on-board doctor and flight captain they make the decision about what to do.

There are some interesting rules. From Johannesburg to London, over land up the length of Africa, major airlines invariably refuse to put down a medical emergency anywhere between Johannesburg and Tunis, on the Mediterranean coast. Facilities just considered to be not good enough. They may do a substantial turnback to get to these places if needed.

En-route diversion can be very costly, getting up to £100k if crew go out of hours, passengers have to be put into hotel, subsequent flights for the aircraft are disrupted, etc, so is only done if really necessary. Having said that intercontinental airlines know what they are occasionally in for, that they are carrying humans and the percentages of times they need to do an en-route diversion. It's just one of the costs of doing business as an airline and is all allowed for in the budgets.

Oddly enough, on my first LHR-JNB we had a bit of a medical emergency when the lady behind me started having breathing difficulty (possibly a panic attack??). Fortunately, the CSD and a passenger with medical training were able to stabilise her and they actually put her in one of the jump seats for the rest of the flight (no spare flat bed seats in F/J according the CSD). Other than that and a couple of minor medical emergency's on short haul flights, I've been relatively lucky.

I agree, however, I wasn't judging their performance or rating this medical emergency...just making an observation. :)

Last year on my annual biz trip to AMS (connections both way), 3 of 4 flights had a medical on board! No diversions though. On the way there the doc who helped on the first flight also ended up being on the 2nd & had to help out again. So much for enjoying the movie...

Yes, coming back from Punta Cana 3 years ago. They thought a young man was having a heart attack and based on the reccomendation of the "doctor" on board we were diverted to MIA. Turns out he had just been hyperventilating. But we got to sit on the ground for almost three hours before we could leave. This was an Apple charter flight(never again!) and the crew was awful! No drinks, not even ice water for the passengers.

Earlier this summer on one of my NW flights I was sitting in 1D when something happened back in Y. I could just tell by the F/A's body language that something was going on but I wasn't sure what. I saw her take several blankets back to Y and a few minutes later a man comes up to F and is standing in the galley area. The F/A appears to be apologizing to him and offering him a drink, etc. She tells him he can sit in the jumpseat (where he stays for the rest of the flight). A few minutes after that, the F/A says something to the guy sitting in 1C to the effect that she's sorry but the Y passengers are going to be coming by to use the lav in F because a passenger in Y had an "accident" and they need to sit on the lav in Y for the rest of the flight.
I didn't find out exactly what happened but I'm guessing someone's colostomy bag broke.

A few weeks back, LH flight from FRA-HKG, a lady in Y fainted. Calls for medical assistance resulted in a slightly tipsy young-ish doctor rocking up to the galley (me :eek: ), as well as several other practitioners of medicine of the Chinese tradition! Whilst I took the blood pressure and re-assured everybody this she'll be fine with some fluids and putting her feet up, the Chinese docs proceeded to accu-pressure her and rub her in various places until the colour came back to her face - me and a FA observed with fascination :D

It's an interesting topic though - given these situations, I would much rather a paramedic come to my assistance than... a "slightly tipsy young-ish doctor". My colleagues and I have had discussions about whether we'd ever owe up to the fact that we were docs whilst travelling; since at least from my uni, we're not bound by the Hippocratic oath :p (and we're young, relatively inexperienced etc. etc.) I think ultimately, instinct and potential guilt wins out.

It happens. Can't recall the route I was on as it was maybe two years ago, but not one medically-trained person on board to respond. Purser asked three times. I chatted with her as we waited to deplane and she said it was the first time in her career that not one was on board.

Or there were, but they didn't dare to acknowledge it, for fear of being sued, at least in the States.

I am medically qualified, and responded to a inflight call once: on a UA transatlantic 777. Not holding a US licence, I did not reply to the first call, but as nobody else made themselves known, I responded. I refuse to believe that I was the only medically qualified on an overbooked June flight, but I guess that others held back due to litigation fears... (My Norwegian malpractise insurance covers this type of emergency, by the way!).

On the other hand flying transatlantic on SK this spring, 60 Scandinavian (mostly Swedish) physicians responded to a minor medical emergency....

Neither of the flights had to divert, BTW

I was on a WN flight where a woman suddenly slouched over and died. Don't know the cause of death, but she was quite elderly.

The WN FAs were surprisingly professional about it all--no commotion, no panic, no call for doctors.

She died, they moved everyone out of the area, and covered her with blankets. We landed 45 minutes later. Nobody spoke.

I'm pretty sure (though not 100%) this is correct:

In the U.S. there are what is known as "Good Samaritan" laws that protect anyone, whether medical professionals or not, from liability for services offered in emergency situations such as a heart attack on a flight. Any medical professional would certainly be familiar with the existence of these laws, so I doubt that fears of being sued would prevent a medical professional from self-identifying in this situation.

I didn't experience this myself, but a friend recently reported being on a NW commuter flight that diverted due to a heart attack enroute. Upon announcing the diversion, the pilot dove out of the sky at a dramatic angle, actually arriving at the bottom of the dive earler than necessary and maintaining an unusually low altitude at top speed to the airport. Upon touchdown my friend said he thought the roller-coaster part of the ride was over and had just begun to relax when it became apparent that the pilot was not slowing the plane as normal, but continued to race to the gate at maximum "taxi" speed, and ended by hitting the brakes hard in a way that pitched everyone forward in their seats. With good reason, of course.

Ultimately, the man was able to walk off the plane, with assistance, so we all hope he is doing well.

I was on a DL redeye from LAX/ATL a few years ago, had just finished the in-flight meal ( yeah...they used to serve meals on airplanes :rolleyes: ) and was starting to drift off to sleep when I felt the plan start to descend. I looked out the window and could see the lights of a large city but didn't really know where we were at the time.
The pilot came on the PA and said we were diverting to ABQ for a medical emergency. We landed, the paramedics came on board and took some poor dude off in a stretcher. I thought we'd take off right away again but the pilot explained that because we had to land with a heavy load of fuel, mechanics needed to check the plane and make sure nothing was damaged by landing heavier than planned.
We sat on the ground for three hours or so until they could roust a few mechanics out of bed and get them to the airport to check out the plane.

I know it possibly felt different to normal, maybe feeling vibration from speed brakes being deployed, but I can assure you that two professional pilots up front would not descend the aircraft at anything other than an acceptable rate. Furthermore they would not then go on at low altitude at top speed, as airliners are restricted to typically 250 knots below 10,000 feet at that's the height below which it is possible to hit a bird, and windshields are only stressed against birdstrikes up to that speed.

I thought they can also bill the patient
 

..if they were so inclined.

That sounds more likely to me. And I wouldn't be surprised if my friend's recollection of a dramatic flight was distorted by the activities on board.

I'm sorry, no comment on your friend, but this just illustrates the value or otherwise of eye-witness reports on aviation matters.

Not just restricted to amateurs. At a Boeing conference one of the presenters took a company aircraft and flew it aerobatically in front of a delegates fishing trip up at a Washington lake on an intervening Sunday. The following morning in his presentation he invited the fishers up to the front and invited these very aviation-qualified professionals to describe what he had flown. An amazingly divergent range of reports. He made his point.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...de/3359149.stm

Personaly the only thing that scares me more then have a medical problem on a plane with no doctors is having one a plane with more then one.... ;)

In the 90's a relative of mine who is a doctor answered a call for a medical emergency on a LH transcon. Diabetic going into insulin shock. Attended to him in the F cabin for the remainder of the flight. He said the pilot was always checking for the next available airport to set down in, although the flight (and patient) made it to FRA. LH offered him a bottle of wine as a show of thanks. He thought an upgrade to C for him and his family on the return would be better compensation for having to be away from his family for most of the flight. LH resisted, but finally gave two out of the family of four upgrades to C. :rolleyes:

Does a bottle of wine seem like minimal compensation for a person who is interrupting their vacation or business trip to essentiall help out the airline and save them many $$$ by not having the flight be forced to land early? :confused:

Urban mythology strikes again.

The "good samaritan" doctrine would most likely shield the volunteer provider from liability. Even if that doctrine didn't apply, the volunteer's conduct would be judged by the standards of their own profession for other similarly-qualified providers acting under the same (emergency) circumstances with the same limitations as to available medications, equipment, etc. And their malpractice insurance almost assuredly would (1) retain and pay for their defense attorney, and (2) indemnify them against losses in the extremely unlikely event of an adverse verdict.

Unless there was clear evidence of seriously negligent error on the part of the volunteer, accompanied by clear proof that the negligence was the cause of a serious injury or death that wouldn't have happened otherwise, no competent lawyer would be stupid enough to file such a case in the first place. Plaintiffs' lawyers get paid only if and when they win. They don't like to work for free.

Oh ye of too much faith!

:eek:

Couple of things here.

While some states do have a "Good Samaritan" law, this only, at BEST protects those who render services in good faith from being successfully sued.

It does not prevent some butthead attorney/client from suing one...as I understand it from relatives in the health care business. In other words, one would still have to hire an attorney and take time from one's work to present this defense in a court of law.

At which point, hopefully, the lawsuit would be dismissed. BUT, one would still be out the time and money from going to court to present this defense. And one would not be able to recoup the the costs of this from the butthead bringing the charges, or their lawyer either.

Admittedly, this is only what I have heard, so I do not present it as fact. But if true, the care giver is already at high risk no matter what. People are so ungrateful, and so quick to sue for megabucks, who can blame any one for not wanting to subject themselves, their families, and their livelihoods to this nonsense?

Perhaps some attorneys in the medical field have better info on the ins and outs of the "Good Samaritan" law?

When we were on a flight from LHR to LAX, a young child passed out waiting for the bathroom. A call went out for medical personnel to please respond and bring your medical license. My husband went and so did 4 other people. It took my husband a minute to realize that the other "professionals" did not know what they were doing. The flight attendants were listening to them though. My husband took his medical license, put it in front of the group around the child and said that if anyone else had one, fine, otherwise lay the child flat and he needed to take over. No one else had a medical license. Is that scary or what? We never did find out what in the world the rest of them thought when they got up to respond. When the co-pilot came back to tell my husband that they were diverting to Salt Lake, my husband told them he was double board ceritifed in emergency medicine and pediatric emergency medicine and that no need to divert, it was okay to go on and just have the paramedics meet us at the airport. The co-pilot saluted him, smiled and said good enough for him and on we went to LA. I did worry for about a year that someone would sue just because they could try. Never, never would anyone charge. We didn't even know the passengers name.

It is exceedingly unlikely that the provider would ever have to appear in court, as the case would be dismissed on motion very soon after it was filed. And, again, this scenario presupposes that some lawyer would be stupid enough to waste his/her time and money pursuing such a case, with its attendant risk of court-imposed sanctions for filing a frivolous action AND the risk of being sued by his/her clients for exposing them to a judgment for the defense costs (to say nothing of the fact that his/her fee will be zero).

It isn't a difficult or esoteric issue. In the context of our discussion, a Good Samaritan would be any medical care professional who volunteers to help someone in need of emergency medical care without being under any duty to care for the patient and without any expectation of compensation. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted Good Samaritan statutes. Although they may vary somewhat in minor details, these laws typically shield a person who provides emergency assistance from civil liability as long as that person was not grossly negligent in providing the emergency care and delivered the care in good faith.

I used the term "urban mythology" seriously, as I believe that's what we're dealing with in this discussion. Health care professionals may fear being sued for doing a good deed for a sick or injured passenger, but I'm confident that their fears are not founded on facts.

I challenge anyone to provide even one single verifiable example of a "good samaritan" health care provider being sued for actions taken in good faith during an in-flight emergency. Give us the case name, city/state, dates, etc. I'll be very surprised if even a single such example proves to be true.

Kman...regardless of your medical emergency response or lack of same, it would be comforting to know you were on one of my flights! :)
Thanks for your commentary above.

Yes, PIT-PHX. Gentleman was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. There was a doctor on board who kept in touch with the pilots and kept them updated on his condition. Finally, the doctor advised that we divert to Wichita and get him to a hospital, which the pilots did.

RE: Emergency On-Board!
 

As noted in a recent thread, I just flew back to HNL from SYD on Hawaiian Airlines, and 3 hours out of HNL, the FA, who knew me, ran up and asked if I would look at this pax. I got up, followed him back, and there were 3 men leaning over the pax, each told the FA they were doctors. As soon as I got to the recumbant pax, I introduced myself to them, and asked who they were. One by one they disappeared into the background, and I was left with a gentleman from AUS who indeed was a "Volunteer Ambulance Advanced Life Support" accredited. The both of us took care of the patient, asked for the First Aid Kit.......one that was deplorably lacking in everything!......and the O2 tank. Made him as comfortable as possible, and put the DeFib on the seat in front of us....just in case. The patient was decidedly cardiac impaired, but with only rudimentary things to work with, I was just hoping we could keep him alive for the next 3 hours! Because there is NO alternate landing site other than HNL, those hours were going to seem very long.

The Captain called for me to come up to the cockpit, and I was seated on the jump seat in back of the Second Officer. I briefed him, and he assured me he had the 767 in high gear, and then I spoke with Medicom in HNL to brief them. They would have an ambulance ready, and someone would board as soon as we landed. I asked the Capt. if he could get an emergency "straight in" landing privilege, of which was immediately given.

Amazingly, the hours went fast, and the straight-in approach was probably the worst thing for the patient, as we descended with such speed, I was surprised all the masks didn't deploy! Reached the gate in rapid order, and the airport nurse blasted thru the jetway and back to the patient. I briefed her quickly as she planted the EKG leads on the patient, and we looked at the strip as it unfolded the dynamics of wayward heart.

I am ever so thankful to the AUS gentlemen for being there with his knowledge of Life Support, and the crew who were so helpful in getting enough room to work around the patient ,and the other pax for their kindness in supplying pillows to keep the patient semi-sitting. The pax made it, and was in good hands when I signed off to the Paramedics. Unfortunately, due to the new privacy regulations, the hospital could not give me any information as to the condition of the pax.

As an aside, never once did it enter my mind that I could be sued....the Good Samaritan Law basically states, in all it's simplicity, that: Do all that has been learned; nothing less nor nothing more.

Not at all.

For the benefit of those who don't know how the legal system works, you find out how much someone is insured for (say $10m) and then sue them for $20m, even though it seems ridiculous. but it gets their attention.

You then say "how much for me to settle and go away". They say "Nothing", so you then say "See you in court then".

The poor defendant is faced with all the loss of their time preparing the case, bad publicity, etc. So the offer of say $50,000 to go away starts to look attractive.

$25k for the claimant and $25k for the lawyer. No case in court. That's how lawyers get paid without winning, in fact without even starting. Being lawyers they know how to avoid getting done for blackmail as a result of all this.

Some time ago flying LON->SEA (can't remember which airports or if there was a layover) there was an emergency. Three doctors responded to the request for treatment, they tended to the lady who was sick and then they disappeared back into the throng.

On Monday (Labor Day), my DL MEX-ATL flight returned to MEX after ~40 minutes in the air due to a 6-month pregnant lady vomiting with shortness of breath and chest pains. She was sitting in the 2nd row of Y with her young daughter. The plane turned around about 10 minutes before the pilot made the announcement.

The FAs made a call for a doctor soon after departure, and one man assisted. He gave her a sedative of some sort.

I would much rather get to a US hospital than return to a MEX hospital, especially considering the woman was a resident of ATL. Her husband was still in MEX, though.

All of the FAs presented the doctor a bottle of wine and said that, "DL would send something".

After about 30 minutes of refueling, completing paperwork, and refilling the first-aid kit, we took off again and were only 3 hours late.