By ASHER KLEIN / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
COSTA MESA – Two employees and a member of a 24 Hour Fitness at The Triangle are slated to be honored by city officials for their role in resuscitating a 67-year-old man who'd gone into cardiac arrest at the gym.
Employees Josh Graves and Isaiah Nixon, and Rick Palombo, a regular at the Costa Mesa club, performed CPR for almost three minutes until paramedics came, club employees said.
24 Hour Fitness at The Triangle in Costa Mesa.
Costa Mesa fire Battalion Chief Fred Seguin said the two-minute, 44-second paramedic response time to the emergency call was unusually good – Fire Station 3 is down the street from the Triangle – but regardless of response time, it's critical that bystanders perform CPR on people who go into cardiac arrest.
"The longer you go without oxygenated blood going through you, your chances decrease," he said.
Fewer than 30 percent of bystanders attempt resuscitation maneuvers on victims of cardiac arrest, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania.
"I've been doing this 27, 28 years now and it's not common," Seguin said.
Their quick response during the Feb. 21 incident was critical to reviving the man, according to Costa Mesa fire Battalion Chief Fred Seguin.
"This gentleman's outcome was a direct result of these two individuals doing CPR, jumping in, getting (a defibrillator) going, notifying 911 and us getting out there," he said. "That four to six minutes is the critical time for your heart."
The man's pulse rate returned and he began breathing on his own after two shocks to his chest, both administered by paramedics with the Costa Mesa Fire Department.
"It seemed like forever in the moment," said Graves, a fitness manager.
A city spokesman said the city plans to honor the three first responders at an upcoming City Council meeting. A Fire Department captain said Tuesday that the man they rescued is recovering well and hopes to be released from the hospital soon.
Nixon and Graves credited their quick response to their training and teamwork.
"I was always curious how I would respond in this kind of situation, and after the training I got I'm glad I reacted the way I did," said Nixon, a personal trainer.
After a club member hollered that a man was on the ground, the first responders ran over, according to club employees. Nixon performed chest compressions while Palombo administered rescue breathing. Meanwhile, Graves attached the club's defibrillator to the man's chest.
"I can't tell you how glad we all are that he pulled through," Graves said. "If you follow the instincts you were trained on, it works."
Contact the writer: 714-796-2390 or aklein@ocregister.com
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