Indian-origin doctor saves man who had 2 cardiac arrests in UK-India flight

An Indian-origin doctor twice resuscitated a fellow passenger on a flight to India after the latter suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed in the aisle and later said he would remember the experience for the rest of his life.

According to a press note, Dr Vishwaraj Vemala, a consultant hepatologist in Birmingham, UK, was on the long-haul Air India flight in November to take his mother back to Bengaluru, their hometown. The flight's cabin crew then started calling for a doctor after a passenger, aged 43, fell ill. The man, who reportedly had no prior medical history, fell in the aisle. Vemala then rushed to his rescue.

His organisation later posted about the incident on Twitter, hailing Dr Vemala for being able to save the passenger's life with limited supplies.

"Dr Vishwaraj Vemala, one of our consultant hepatologists, saved the life of a passenger who suffered two cardiac arrests mid-flight. With limited supplies, Dr Vemala was able to resuscitate him before handing over to emergency crews on the ground," University Hospitals Birmingham tweeted.

It took Vemala about an hour to help the passenger regain consciousness. He also asked the cabin crew to help with medication and he was surprised to see that their medical kit had resuscitative medicine.

"Luckily, they had an emergency kit, which to my utter surprise, included resuscitative medication to enable life support," he was quoted as saying.

However, there were also challenges.

The doctor said that "Apart from oxygen and an automated external defibrillator, there was no other equipment on board to monitor how he was doing."

He managed to get some key equipment such as a heart-rate monitor, blood-pressure machine, pulse oximeter and glucose meter to check the patient's vital. But the danger was not over yet as the passenger, who spoke with the doctor after regaining consciousness, went into cardiac arrest again and required an even longer resuscitation this time.

"In total, he was without a good pulse or decent blood pressure for nearly two hours of the flight, alongside the cabin crew, we were trying to keep him alive for five hours in total. It was extremely scary for us all, especially the other passengers, and it was quite emotional," the press note added.

The flight's pilot then arranged for a landing at Mumbai Airport where emergency took the passenger to safety.

"I remember it was extremely emotional for us all when we heard we could land in Mumbai. By the time we landed the passenger had been resuscitated and was able to speak with me. Nevertheless, I insisted he go to a hospital to be checked over," the doctor was quoted as saying.

He also said that the patient thanked him with tears in his eyes.