Ambulance driver covers 65 kms in 40 mins, saves cardiac patient's life

Mangaluru: A 40–year-old man, who suffered a massive cardiac arrest while visiting Dharmasthala was saved by doctors at KMC Hospital after ambulance driver successfully covered the distance between Dharmasthala to Mangaluru in just 40 minutes.

The patient, a Chikkaballapur native sustained a heart attack near Sakleshpur on Saturday while he was on his way to Dharmasthala. He was provided preliminary treatment at private hospital in Ujire, where doctors advised his relatives to shift him to a hospital in Mangaluru immediately.

The patient’s condition was critical and the odds were completely against him. Moreover owing to the ongoing double lane project work, the road too had been dugout. Despite all this ambulance driver Hameed drove at a fast pace and managed to reach the patient to the hospital within 40 minutes.

Though Hameed managed to reach him on time, the patient’s heart stopped due to fatal condition when he was being shifted to emergency. As the patient was within the emergency room, shock treatment was given and his heart beat restored.

Interventional Cardiologist Dr Padmanabha Kamath, HoD, Cardiology Department, KMC Hospital performed the surgery and managed to open the artery and restore the blood flow. The condition of the patient is said to be stable.

Meanwhile, Dr Kamath and relatives of the patient felicitated Hameed after the surgery.