Conn. Civic Center last month, where the Naval Academy basketball team played the University of North Carolina Tarheels during an NCAA tournament game. McDevitt was recognized by a Navy officer as one of the clinic physicians and was told by the officer that a man had passed out on the Civic Center stairs. McDevitt approached the lifeless man who was without a pulse or signs of breathing and determined he was in full cardiac arrest. The doctor immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Moments later, Hartford Civic Center paramedics arrived, and McDevitt used their defibrillator on the unconscious man.
Defibrillators assess heart rhythm and provide shock treatment.
After the second shock, McDevitt watched the victim s pale, chalk-colored face brighten with color. The paramedics then transported the man to the local hospital. At halftime, McDevitt called the hospital to check on his emergency patient and was told the man was awake and his condition continued to improve. To me, it was a miracle. It brought out the importance of having defibrillation immediately applied, said McDevitt.