Flight for Life
“Three percent of us actually survive the type of heart attack I had. I should not be here today. I was so, so lucky.”
Robert Lass had a very severe heart attack during a Northwood’s fishing tournament.
Three percent of us actually survive the type of heart attack I had.
His heart stopped at the scene for the first of more than 20 times that day. After the Rescue 1 protocol was enacted, he was flown to Weston for advanced treatment by heart specialists on staff at Ascension Saint Clare’s Hospital.
A combination of circumstances and an extraordinary heart team helped him survive what could have been a deadly event.
“I made it through because I was lucky enough to have just caught a fish. Then, because my fishing partner knew CPR, because the first responder lived two blocks away, because the people on the helicopter crew kept my heart going…and because once we landed, I was in surgery in minutes. Had all that not happened, I would not be here today. I should not be here today. I was so, so lucky.”