Heart Attack @38,000Feet

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
Most of my evening flights were uneventful, except every now and then, there would be that one flight when things would be shaken up a bit. We were flying from Denver to NYC with about 300 passengers onboard. One of the passengers must have flushed a diaper or other foreign object down one of the aft lavatories causing it to overflow and out into the aisle.

A couple of the F/A’s quickly cleaned it up and dried the area. An older woman needed to use the lavatory, but the other aft lavatory was in use, so she had to wait. The person in the other lavatory must have been in for quite awhile. The lady waiting was becoming anxious and kept telling the F/A that she had to go “NOW!”

The F/A finally knocked on the door and no one answered. She kept trying to get the person’s attention inside, but no answer. The F/A finally called us on the PA system up front and I sent the F/O back to see if he could get a response from inside. The F/O also got no response, so I told him to go ahead and make entry. (We have a way to unlock the door from outside.)

Once inside, the F/O found a man half laying on the floor and half hanging onto the sink. It was evident that the person had a medical emergency. Once I was notified of the situation, I called the nearest airport, which was Kansas City and was directed by the United Dispatcher to land and prepare for an onboard emergency evacuation, which we are trained to perform.

We later learned that the person had a heart attack, but did recover thanks to our quick thinking F/A team by using the onboard AED and oxygen. As for the rest of us, we were only 40 minutes late arriving in NYC and our F/A’s were all rewarded with a cash bonus of appreciation from United.
 

My oldest daughter was a F/A and answered a call on a flight from Goa to Stockholm. A lady passenger had suffered a heart attack. They got her to the aisle at the back of the plane and put out the usual call on the P/A for a doctor or nurse. There was a nurse on board and she and my daughter gave the passenger CPR for forty minutes until they could make an emergency landing in Germany. The first thing the German paramedic said when he saw the woman was "Scheisse". Sadly she didn't make it. After landing at Stockholm nearly all passengers thanked my daughter as they left the plane and the whole crew was met by the airline's crisis management team.
 
There is a huge highway that circles the far reaches of the outskirts of London. My paramedic wife was travelling along it towards her exit, on the way to visit her sister. In the distance ahead she saw a massive cloud of dust followed by all the car's rear brake lights shining bright. As she got closer she saw a small car with damage in keeping with a roll over. There was a young woman trapped inside. My wife pulled over onto the hard shoulder, put on her hi-viz vest with the word Paramedic emblazoned across the back and collected her first aid case. Approaching the car she saw a couple of men trying to untwist the buckled seat in order to get the driver out of the car. "Leave her be!" Yelled my wife, her voice must have carried some authority for they did just that. After fitting a neck brace to the victim she checked her spine then got her to move her fingers and toes. The fire brigade arrived and cut her free, the ambulance crew complimented her and told her which hospital they would be taking the crash victim to.

On the way home from visiting her sister she stopped by that hospital, she was permitted to visit the young woman who was now in bed on a hospital ward. There was a doctor at the bedside who asked her if she was the off-duty paramedic at the crash scene. My wife said that she was. "Your quick reaction," said the doctor, "along with fitting her with a neck brace, has saved her from a lifetime of paralysis, probably confined to a wheelchair." He went on, "the x-ray showed one of the neck vertebrae had cracked, fitting that brace saved her." The driver said her thank you's to my wife, neither of them had a dry eye.

A month or so later my wife was called to ambulance headquarters where she was presented with a citation award and medal, both of which she now proudly keeps, along with a photograph that arrived some five years later, via the ambulance service. It is a picture of the crash victim, in her bridal gown standing alongside her new husband, on the back is the simple message: "My eternal thanks."
 

Glowworm said:
My oldest daughter was a F/A and answered a call on a flight from Goa to Stockholm. A lady passenger had suffered a heart attack. They got her to the aisle at the back of the plane and put out the usual call on the P/A for a doctor or nurse. There was a nurse on board and she and my daughter gave the passenger CPR for forty minutes until they could make an emergency landing in Germany. The first thing the German paramedic said when he saw the woman was "Scheisse". Sadly she didn't make it. After landing at Stockholm nearly all passengers thanked my daughter as they left the plane and the whole crew was met by the airline's crisis management team.
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Our Purser had requested for any medical emergency personnel to please stand up. Out of 300 passengers onboard, we had no one experienced in emergency medical aid onboard. Our F/A’s did an outstanding job. Most F/A’s go through medical training using the AED, O2 and even a sudden stroke.

This wasn’t the first medical emergency I had experienced. Besides dealing with first time flyer’s anxieties. we also had a passenger experience a brain embolism, which also required an emergency landing. Not sure how that turned out. A kind of silly one was when we had a small child got his hand stuck in between the seats while trying to retrieve a piece of candy. The child was hysterical for awhile, but did calm down once the F/A was able to get his small hand out of the seat and gave him a pack of cookies.

Medical emergencies while in the air are real emergencies. We can’t call 911 and expect an EMT to show up in 10-15 minutes.
 
I flew to Boston once and two girls were sitting in front of my wife and I. For one of the girls, it was her first plane ride. She freaked out when we started climbing, but once we got to our cruising altitude, she had settled down. We had a smooth ride, which I think helped her.
 
oldman said:
Most of my evening flights were uneventful, except every now and then, there would be that one flight when things would be shaken up a bit. We were flying from Denver to NYC with about 300 passengers onboard. One of the passengers must have flushed a diaper or other foreign object down one of the aft lavatories causing it to overflow and out into the aisle.

A couple of the F/A’s quickly cleaned it up and dried the area. An older woman needed to use the lavatory, but the other aft lavatory was in use, so she had to wait. The person in the other lavatory must have been in for quite awhile. The lady waiting was becoming anxious and kept telling the F/A that she had to go “NOW!”

The F/A finally knocked on the door and no one answered. She kept trying to get the person’s attention inside, but no answer. The F/A finally called us on the PA system up front and I sent the F/O back to see if he could get a response from inside. The F/O also got no response, so I told him to go ahead and make entry. (We have a way to unlock the door from outside.)

Once inside, the F/O found a man half laying on the floor and half hanging onto the sink. It was evident that the person had a medical emergency. Once I was notified of the situation, I called the nearest airport, which was Kansas City and was directed by the United Dispatcher to land and prepare for an onboard emergency evacuation, which we are trained to perform.

We later learned that the person had a heart attack, but did recover thanks to our quick thinking F/A team by using the onboard AED and oxygen. As for the rest of us, we were only 40 minutes late arriving in NYC and our F/A’s were all rewarded with a cash bonus of appreciation from United.
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Just wondering about the lady who 'had to go NOW'! Did she get to go before it was too late?
 
Back in 2018 we took a vacation to Walt Disney World for the Christmas season.
9 really great days, enjoying the parks and the decorations.
Didn't think we over did things, took our time and sat on benches a lot and 'People Watched'.

We got home and the next morning I awoke, had coffee and started to sort the clothes in the suitcases.
Started feeling warm, started to sweat like there was no tomorrow and had a dull pain in my chest.
Long story short, got to the emergency room and shortly after had 2 stents implanted. The Dreaded Heart Attack.

Always wondered what would have happened if this had occurred on the plane ride home from WDW,
instead of one day later.
 
I was having a small drink while waiting for a delayed flight one day, when I fell into conversation with a fellow passenger who was a GP. He related that once when he was on a long haul flight in a 747 and sitting upstairs in the 'bubble', there was a call
for any doctor on board to help with an incident. He got up, went downstairs and asked if he could help. He was asked to wait and then a flight attendant came along, thanked him for his offer, but there was a surgeon in first class who would attend to the problem. He was a bit annoyed at what he thought was a rather snobbish attitude.

The same doctor gave me a good piece of advice (as he finished his second pint) - "If you drink less than your GP, you don't have a problem".
 
Feelslikefar said:
Back in 2018 we took a vacation to Walt Disney World for the Christmas season.
9 really great days, enjoying the parks and the decorations.
Didn't think we over did things, took our time and sat on benches a lot and 'People Watched'.

We got home and the next morning I awoke, had coffee and started to sort the clothes in the suitcases.
Started feeling warm, started to sweat like there was no tomorrow and had a dull pain in my chest.
Long story short, got to the emergency room and shortly after had 2 stents implanted. The Dreaded Heart Attack.

Always wondered what would have happened if this had occurred on the plane ride home from WDW,
instead of one day later.
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Emergency landing for sure. We would have had an ambulance waiting to transport you as soon as we had landed.
I don’t think a doctor being onboard would have been much help for maybe more than giving CPR.
 
I have spoken with other pilots at United who have had heart attacks, strokes, appendicitis and other emergencies come to their attention while in the air. As the Captain in charge of the plane, it is incumbent upon us to get the plane on the ground as quickly and safely as soon as possible. Remaining calm and following SOP is imperative to aiding the ill passenger.

Once, we had a choking victim from eating a lifesaver. Our F/A’s are trained to perform the Heimlich maneuver. It took her only 3 or4 thrusts to get the lifesaver to expel from the passenger. The flight was able to continue on.
 
oldman said:
Our Purser had requested for any medical emergency personnel to please stand up. Out of 300 passengers onboard, we had no one experienced in emergency medical aid onboard. Our F/A’s did an outstanding job. Most F/A’s go through medical training using the AED, O2 and even a sudden stroke.

This wasn’t the first medical emergency I had experienced. Besides dealing with first time flyer’s anxieties. we also had a passenger experience a brain embolism, which also required an emergency landing. Not sure how that turned out. A kind of silly one was when we had a small child got his hand stuck in between the seats while trying to retrieve a piece of candy. The child was hysterical for awhile, but did calm down once the F/A was able to get his small hand out of the seat and gave him a pack of cookies.

Medical emergencies while in the air are real emergencies. We can’t call 911 and expect an EMT to show up in 10-15 minutes.
Click to expand...

Oh wait hold on there might be a way to fly in a EMTS to attach to the plane like as they do to gas up planes in mid air.
Funny how people are experiencing time travel as in portals. Someone even said a black hole is that way a guessing game as I read moons ago we only use a third of our brain. Makes sense that not in my lifetime maybe my grandson's it will show up some how as telephones. Tvs. Planes etc has. All those inventions means there is a way to fill up thier brain less used to portal oneself into a plane or anywhere just using your mind power...it's far fetched I know.....wish I could be around to experience the joy.
 
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A close high school friend of my wife later became a career F/A. When she retired she could fly virtually anywhere in the world space available for next to nothing. She just pays the tax, and can take a companion -- sometimes my wife, and sometimes First Class. Once she gets to a destination she also gets a deal on hotels, and cruise ships. My wife has toured Europe, China, and Japan with her at a bargain rate. Next, maybe Australia. (-8
 
I think there is some relationship between high altitude and cardiac issues. I do know higher elevations have a greater radiation exposure than at ground level.

I just Googled it and it does come up:

While high altitude is well tolerated by most individuals, patients with cardiovascular disease are at risk of complications caused by tissue hypoxia and reduced oxygen delivery, sympathetic stimulation, increased myocardial demand, paradoxical vasoconstriction, and alterations in hemodynamics that occur with exposure to high altitude [3-5]. The duration of travel, ascent profile, degree of exertion, and any prior cardiovascular history can each impact the health of a patient with cardiovascular disease who is considering traveling to high altitude.

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/h...is well,hemodynamics that occur with exposure
 
Glowworm said:
My oldest daughter was a F/A and answered a call on a flight from Goa to Stockholm. A lady passenger had suffered a heart attack. They got her to the aisle at the back of the plane and put out the usual call on the P/A for a doctor or nurse. There was a nurse on board and she and my daughter gave the passenger CPR for forty minutes until they could make an emergency landing in Germany. The first thing the German paramedic said when he saw the woman was "Scheisse". Sadly she didn't make it. After landing at Stockholm nearly all passengers thanked my daughter as they left the plane and the whole crew was met by the airline's crisis management team.
Click to expand...
Sorry to learn the lady died. It's a terrible thing for anyone that is flying with the passenger as a companion, but also for the passengers onboard the plane. There is a whole manual that the Captain must follow when a medical emergency arises. FastTrax probably knows all about this because the same protocols must be followed whether flying by plane, boat, rail or any means of public transportation that is covered under the NTSB guidelines. The FAA has very little to say about people that become ill while in the air. It just states on how to handle some cases as an emergency.

If a person becomes very ill, such as suffering a heart attack, we must ask for anyone onboard to please give aid. If there is a medical doctor, nurse or EMT onboard, they are required to give aid if able.

If the person appears to be deceased, (no pulse, no heartbeat noticeable), the companion is requested to stay with the body. The Captain must declare an emergency to the traffic controllers and land at the nearest airport providing the runway is long enough. Upon landing, all passengers must disembark with their belongings and no one else, but medical personnel is allowed on the plane until the Coroner of the County where the plane had landed has boarded and determined that the passenger is deceased. The plane may be considered a crime scene, but only if blood or a weapon is present nearby to where the body is lying. In the United manual, it states in large bold capital letters, "ABOVE ALL, THE BODY MUST BE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY."
 
My Grand Son is learning to be a commercial pilot. He eats in the commissary where all the pilots eat. He's told me of many tales of pilots on planes. They said the altitude does something to older people as the plane has to be pressurized at 38 to 45,000 ft. Which can cause heart attacks, strokes & other problems. They have had to get up to 45,000 ft to fly over a bad storm. That's when problems started happening.

Many pilots tell him they wish they didn't have bars in the waiting area before the plane departures. Something about alcohol down on the ground a person is ok. They get up to 38,000 Ft. & they change or have health problems.

That's why they tell him to just fly cargo planes. You never have a problem with them unless you go through EMT training to fly passengers.
 
Your Grandson speaks the truth. People with heart issues should not fly, unless their doctor approves. It is not a good idea to drink if you are flying as a passenger. Your chances of becoming inebriated go up, depending on how much alcohol you have consumed.

I have flown at 54,000 feet to get above the tops of thunderstorms, but only for a short distance. Hypoxia can set in on a pilot before they know or realize what's happening to them. So, any time, I went above 40-41,000 feet, I donned the oxygen mask. I always thought "safety first."

I thought seriously about flying cargo a few times, but I never quite trusted the loadmasters. I seen some very sloppy loading of cargo and seen too many accidents due to poor loading procedures. Sometimes loadmasters will feel rushed to get the plane into the air, so they hurry and don't follow the proper procedures. An unbalanced load has brought quite a few planes down.

What airline does your Grandson fly for? Just out of curiosity.
 

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