It was early morning on December 8, 2020, and the sports club in Mumbai, India, was buzzing with people trying to get in their workouts.
“The last I remembered, I was playing badminton game and then when I was lying in Ravindra’s car. Certainly without the AED, I would have died.”
Mukesh Shah
Sixty-year-old businessman, Mukesh Shah, was playing badminton with his brother, Rakesh; something they did daily. Meanwhile, 35-yearold fitness fanatic, Ravindra Bhattad, was busy working out just a few feet away.
After the first badminton game, Mukesh took a break and sat on a chair, because he started feeling uneasy. Within a minute, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
Ravindra realised something was wrong. Upon seeing Mukesh lying on the ground and the futile attempts of other club goers to revive him by splashing water on his face and shaking his shoulders, Ravindra knew he needed to act quickly.
Instinct kicked in.
“I realised that the symptoms were similar to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and that the victim needed both Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) shock instantly,” Ravindra explained.
Just a year earlier, he had taken an AED training course and learned the symptoms of SCA. He quickly called for an ambulance and inquired if there was a doctor in the club.
Luckily, the club had installed Philips HeartStart FRx AEDs a few months earlier. While waiting for club security to bring the AED, Ravindra started CPR.
Ravindra said he was worried using the AED, because it had been a year since he had seen one. But, thanks to the self-learning feature on the HeartStart FRx AED, the device started communicating in simple, easy-to-follow steps for Ravindra to follow, making him feel very comfortable.
The AED instructed Ravindra to put the AED pads on Mukesh’s chest and continue CPR. Suddenly, the device announced, “Analyzing. Deliver shock now. Press the flashing orange button now.”
As Ravindra pressed the orange flashing button, a shock was delivered, and he was instructed by the AED to continue CPR.
Two times is the charm.
Two minutes later, the AED started analyzing heart rhythm again and advised for second shock. After the second shock, Ravindra could immediately see some movement in Mukesh, as he slowly regained consciousness.
Although Mukesh was starting to regain consciousness, Rakesh was concerned about his brother’s condition. With the ambulance not there yet, Ravindra decided to take Mukesh in his car to the nearest hospital.
After two days in the hospital and a two-week home recovery, Mukesh was back to work and feeling fine. He is grateful that he can continue spending time with his family and emphatically believes that every person should receive CPR/AED training, whatever their job may be.
Mukesh said he owes a debt of gratitude to Ravindra for saving his life. For his part, Ravindra said he was glad he was at the sports club that day and that the HeartStart FRx AED was nearby and provided step-by-step voice commands.
