By EMS1 Staff
NAPLES, Fla. — Thanks to a smartphone app, an off-duty paramedic was able to begin care for a woman who was having a cardiac emergency.
Collier County Lt. Paul Passaretti said he had recently installed the PulsePoint app, which alerts bystanders when a cardiac emergency occurs nearby.
Passaretti said he was driving when he received an alert of a woman with chest pains nearby. Although an ambulance was already on the way, Passaretti arrived there three minutes before, reported FOX4. The woman was conscious and breathing when responders arrived.
“Had this been an actual cardiac arrest, I would have been able to perform about three minutes of CPR prior to the rest of the crews being on scene,” Passaretti said. “Three minutes could be the difference between them walking out of the hospital, or having permanent damage.”
Passaretti said anyone who knows CPR should have the app. “By downloading this app, they may make a huge difference to a family member, or even to people they don’t know.”