A woman at a North Carolina airport saved a man’s life after her quick thinking and medical know-how led her to believe he was having a heart attack.
Claire Cerbie, a registered nurse, was waiting at the gate for her flight at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on the morning of June 7 when she noticed a struggling Ken Jeffries.
Jeffries, 57, was on the same flight to Knoxville, Tennessee, as Cerbie, and she said he was exhibiting two classic signs of a possible heart attack, WBTV reported.
“Just the way you were snoring and breathing, from what I saw before, it sounded like you were having a heart attack,” Cerbie told Jeffries in the Zoom meeting.
More than half of patients who go into cardiac arrest are gasping for breath, snoring or having trouble breathing, according to the University of Arizona’s Sarver Heart Center.
Ken Jeffries, pictured, suffered a heart attack at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on the morning of June 7 while waiting for a flight to Knoxville, Tennessee.
Claire Cerbie, a registered nurse, was waiting at the same gate as Jeffries. She immediately recognized his snoring and heavy breathing as symptoms of an impending heart attack. She jumped in to save him
“Bystanders often misinterpret gasping and other unusual vocal sounds as breathing and do not call 9-1-1 or begin chest compressions quickly enough,” the center explained.
That wasn’t a problem for Cerbie, who knew exactly what she was dealing with the moment she saw Jeffries snoring.
She immediately jumped into action and called nearby fliers to help.
Cerbie and a group of good Samaritans performed chest compressions while someone else brought in a defibrillator.
“We put protectors on him,” she said. “It indicated a shock rhythm and shocked him in between when we were doing compressions.
The Jeffries performed CPR for 10 minutes before he miraculously regained a pulse.
“He had his own rhythm. He was breathing on his own and we stayed with him until paramedics arrived,” said the nurse.
Jeffries, left, thanks Cerbie for a Zoom call hosted by WBTV. The two are emotional over the weight of what happened
Cerbie worked at Atrium Health’s Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte
Afterwards, Jeffries expressed his gratitude to Cerbia for saving him and almost cut off Zoom’s call when she tried to thank her for what she had done.
“Sorry, sorry guys,” he said as he recovered.
“Thank you” is not enough, Claire. Thank you for what you did. I appreciate it very much and am indebted to you.”
Cerbie, who worked at Atrium Health’s Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte, seemed emotional hearing Jeffries’ passionate thanks.
“I’m very glad I was there to help you that day. I would obviously do it again in a heartbeat,” she said.
“I’m so glad you’re doing so well.
Jeffries in a hospital bed after suffering a heart attack at the airport. His doctor said Cerbie almost certainly prevented his death because of her quick action
On the day of his heart attack, Jeffries was taken to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, where cardiologist Dr. William Downey performed the surgery.
Downey revealed that if Cerbie and her passengers had not jumped into CPR, Jeffries would have died.
Jeffries did not notice any of the symptoms normally associated with heart attacks that led to his medical emergency.
Downey said heart attacks can be prevented by quitting smoking, exercising regularly and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol.
As a bonus for her heroic act, Cerbie was upgraded to first class by American Airlines, WBTV reported.