A story from the Wire...

[Harpoon]

"Stole" this off the AP wire service at the office this afternoon. My wife had just printed out the "briefs" which are quick summaries of the stories AP writers are working on in any given day and she downloaded the article for me.



LONDON, England (AP) -- A flight in the United States proved lucky for a British woman who suffered a heart attack.

Fifteen heart specialists, all bound for a medical conference in Florida, stood up to offer help when a cabin attendant asked: "Is there a doctor on board?"

Dorothy Fletcher, 67, who had been on her way from Britain to her daughter's wedding, said Wednesday that she owed her life to the doctors.

"I was in a very bad way and they all rushed to help," said Fletcher, who was stricken on a flight from Philadelphia to Florida.

"I wish I could thank them but I have no idea who they were, other than that they were going to a conference in Orlando."

Fletcher, who lives in Liverpool, northwestern England, spent two days in intensive care in a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina following the heart attack on November 7.

She spent three more days in the hospital, but still made it to Florida for her daughter Caroline's wedding.


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Just what DOES a cardiologist carry in his little black bag? Defibulator paddles???

 

[catwoman]

Talk about a guardian angel watching over her... He/she even scheduled the right flight for his client!

Don't most aircraft carry defib equipment now? I fly 99.9% on American Airlines, and I've noticed the overhead bins with the defib equipment.

 

[Harpoon]

Probably, I don't know if it's required but it may be. They're in our schools here now, I see them all the time. A happy "unfunded mandate" from the state that schools get stuck paying for.

I don't know if defibs would be required for international carries. It might vary from country to country...

I'm not sure how helpful a cardiologist would be during a heart attack if there wasn't a defibulator available, unless he carried his own meds or something.

 

[ccrawford]

Hate to break the news to you, but an awlful lot of cardios don't even own a black bag anymore. Granted, most of them should know how to do CPR, but your chances of getting a life saving drug on the flight are somewhere between slim and none. Chris

 

[Harpoon]

Well, yeah... =)


I don't know of any doctor, card or otherwise, that has a black bag these days.

And I'm fairly certain the only places you'd see the kinds of drugs needed during a heart related emergency would be in an ambulance with a paramedic or in a hospital. I doubt even a cardiologist office would have that kind of stuff on hand.