Flare alert helped safe heart attack sailor’s life

27/07/2020

A sailor who suffered a heart attack received lifesaving medical assistance thanks to a flare alert.

Dennis Dillon was on his Sea Ray in New York’s Port Jefferson Harbor when he went into cardiac arrest, reports soundingsonline.com.

A nearby boater and his doctor fiancé heard his wife’s cries for help and went to help. She took over CPR and directed others who had come to help.

The Coast Guard and local police and also medical personnel were called and flares located and used. Requests for an automated external defibrillator were sent to other boaters in the area. One couple with the equipment responded and located the boat thanks to the flares.

As the Sea Ray was driven to the shore, Mr Dillon was breathing on his own. He also had regained a pulse.

Just 25 minutes after the heart attack and initial call, paramedics were taking Mr Dillon to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a 100% blockage in the left anterior descending coronary artery, a condition with a 5%-6% per cent survival rate on land and less on water.

Mr Dillon thanked those who helped save his life at a ceremony in June, saying, “I will never be able to repay any of the beautiful, loving people who are responsible for my being here.”

The image of Port Jefferson Harbor is from Wikipedia and is reproduced under CreativeCommons.

See news of another rescue in the United States involving flares.