Synagogue Worshipper Saved by Quick-Thinking Congregants and an AED

Portions of this article were excerpted from an American Red Cross chapter newsletter.

According to Joel, he is five-months old. Joel died of cardiac arrest and was revived on Saturday morning, July 17, at his synagogue in Pennsylvania. Quick-thinking congregants used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to save Joel's life that day.

An AED is a device that can restart a heart that has stopped beating effectively. It analyzes the heart's rhythm and, if necessary, tells the user to deliver a shock to a victim of sudden cardiac arrest. This shock may help the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm of its own. To be most effective, AEDs need to be accessible for immediate use. Consequently, many localities are now making AEDs available in public places for use by trained laypersons.

Joel, an octagenarian, was attending synagogue services when he experienced cardiac arrest. Two physicians and fellow congregants came to his aid immediately and checked his vital signs. Someone called 911 while one physician began rescue breathing. When no pulse was found, they began CPR. Fortunately, the congregation had recently purchased an AED and someone very quickly brought it to the scene. A workplace trainer for the local American Red Cross chapter also happened to be attending services and operated the device. After two shocks from the AED, Joel's pulse returned and he began to breathe. By then a paramedic team had arrived and took over the resuscitation efforts. Joel was stabilized at the hospital and has since recuperated fully from his experience. He now considers it part of his mission to tell as many people as possible about how AEDs can save lives.

While speaking at a recent American Red Cross conference, Joel, a Holocaust survivor, was asked what it felt like to be dead. "I felt like a piece of wood." Interrupted briefly when someone adjusted his microphone, he quipped, "No one interrupted me when I was dead."

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