Joe's Story
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Emergency response team saves Joe’s life

Quick response saves Joe’s life

Joe Moscato, a technical writer with Philips, was a fit guy. His regular routine was a two hour workout in the company gym.

 

He had just finished working out when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). His heart had an electrical malfunction and he needed a normal heart rhythm to be restarted immediately.

 

The Philips Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called.

 

Help arrives quickly

 

“I was sitting in a product development meeting when I received a page notifying me that a colleague was in distress,” recalls Kate. Catherine Rochford, RN, is a clinical research specialist for Philips and a member of the ERT. “I saw that the victim was in another building so I took off running.”

 

When Kate arrived, she saw Joe lying on the floor. “As I got closer I saw that the gentleman was blue, unconscious, and not breathing. We started CPR and within seconds an ERT member arrived with a Philips HeartStart AED. We quickly applied the AED pads to the patient’s chest. At that point, the AED went into analyze mode and indicated ‘shock advised’.”

 

The ERT team delivered the shock and restored Joe’s pulse. “Our patient was still unresponsive, but his heart was beating and he was breathing on his own,” said Kate. An ambulance took him to the hospital.

 

AEDs save lives and ERT programs work

 

Once Joe revived, he was surprised to find out what had happened to him.

“When the cardiologist came in and explained that I had suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) due to a plaque rupture in one of my arteries, I was shocked. I never imagined I’d be a candidate for something like this. Then he told me that I was one of the few who survive with virtually no heart or brain damage. At that point, I realized how fortunate I was to have had the Philips ERT team and AED by my side that day.”

 

Kate agrees. “Joe was in great shape. To look at him you would never suspect that he had any cardiac issues. He’s walking proof that SCA can strike anyone at any time, that AEDs save lives, and that ERT programs work.”

 

Seth Bilazarian, MD., FACC, Clinical & Intervention Cardiologist, Pentucket Medical Center, Haverhill, Mass., met Joe at the ER that afternoon. “The fact that he was able to be resuscitated was thanks in large part to his prompt defibrillation. That was really the difference in this particular patient from most patients who have Sudden Cardiac Death.”

Joe standing next to an AED, the device that saved his life.

Joe standing next to an AED, the device that saved his life.

“The fact that he was able to be resuscitated was thanks in large part to his prompt defibrillation. That was really the difference in this particular patient from most patients who have Sudden Cardiac Death.”

–Seth Bilazarian, MD.

FACC, Clinical & Intervention Cardiologist,

Pentucket Medical Center, Haverhill, MA

“Joe was in great shape. To look at him you would never suspect that he had any cardiac issues. He’s walking proof that SCA can strike anyone at any time, that AEDs save lives, and that ERT programs work.”

–Catherine Rochford, RN

Philips Andover Emergency Response Team

“I was one of the few who survive with virtually no heart or brain damage.”

–Joe Moscato

Technical writer at Philips

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