A physician couple flying to a medical conference saved the life of a fellow passenger in the aisle of a plane en route to Phoenix Oct. 25, according to a Mayo Clinic report.
Chetna Mangat, MD, and her husband, Gagandeep Singh, MD, were sitting directly behind the passenger, who had gone into cardiac arrest and was unresponsive.
"My husband jumped up and found that the woman had no pulse," Dr. Mangat, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wis., told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. "Without wasting any time, he pulled her onto the floor in the aisle and we started active CPR."
Dr. Mangat performed chest compressions while her husband, a family practice physician who also cares for emergency department patients, began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Two other passengers with medical backgrounds also helped check the woman's heart rhythm and determined she would not need to be shocked.
After approximately four to five minutes of CPR, the woman's heart began beating again and she regained consciousness. The plane made an emergency landing in Lincoln, Neb., where an ambulance was waiting for the patient.
"It was a good feeling," Dr. Mangat said, "to know that somebody needed help and you could do that."
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