Saturday afternoon a man, suspected to be in his late 50s, was successfully resuscitated after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest at a shopping centre in Edenvale.

EMER-G-MED paramedics along with other services responded to the scene, arriving to find an off-duty doctor performing CPR on the man who had collapsed while he was shopping.

The team of paramedics and off-duty doctor performed CPR and other Advanced Life Support procedures for upwards of 20 minutes, when they finally got a “shockable heart rhythm”. The man’s heart was defibrillated and his pulse returned.

Paramedics further stabilised the patient, whilst the Netcare911 Aeromedical Helicopter was activated to airlift the man to an awaiting team of specialists at the Netcare Union Hospital, south of Johannesburg.

At approximately 1.25pm the helicopter landed in the shopping centre’s parking lot. The man was rapidly loaded and airlifted without delay.

EMER-G-MED thanked the off-duty doctor, group of bystanders and paramedics from various other services who assisted on the scene.