Vishwaraj Vemala sprung into action when the 43-year-old father had a cardiac arrest and collapsed on board a flight from the UK for Goa, India in “extremely emotional” scenes
A dad had “tears in his eyes” after a stranger saved his life on a plane at 35,000ft.
Dr Vishwaraj Vemala rushed to help the 43-year-old dad after he collapsed having suffered a cardiac arrest on the plane destined for Goa, India. Dr Vemala shocked the man’s heart into beating again and the plane made a swift emergency landing in Mumbai, where the father received further treatment.
“As he was taken away he had tears in his eyes. It was extremely emotional for us all,” Dr Vemala, a liver specialist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston, Birmingham, said today. He was travelling with his mother who woke the medic when she saw the man experience discomfort.
Dr Vemala shouted for the crew to bring the plane’s medical kit and defibrillator. He continued: “I’m a liver physician but have worked in intensive care for five years, too, and regularly dealt with cardiac arrest. But in hospital I’d have a team, monitoring equipment and trained nurses. Here I was on my own.”
The doctor had to borrow equipment from passengers, including a blood-pressure monitor and a glucose monitor. He also attached an Apple Watch to a laptop, using it as a makeshift electrocardiogram (ECG) to check the electrical activity of the man’s heart.
And, incredibly, Dr Vemala would have to work to keep the 43-year-old patient alive for five hours – during which time he used the defibrillator once more to kickstart the man’s heart again after he had another cardiac arrest.
Speaking to the Daily Mail today, Dr Vemala continued: “He was telling me he had a three-year-old daughter in the UK and was travelling to Goa to visit family. It made me all the more glad I could help.”
According to regulations, UK airlines have to carry medical kits that include a stethoscope, syringes and needles, urinary catheters and tubes that can be inserted into the throat if someone stops breathing.
Some airlines also carry a defibrillator like the one Dr Vemala used in November 2022. They should also have a range of drugs including adrenaline, pain relief, drugs to stop seizures, sickness and heart problems, and antihistamines for allergic reactions.
