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I'm a survivor of cardiac arrest and was resuscitated with an AED and CPR. I've gone through a lot but I'm glad to be alive, have an implanted ICD now, and I'm glad some employee didn't refuse to do CPR on me.

I wasn't conscious for the event and the entire following week, but they didn't break any of my ribs. Maybe the AED allowed them to be less violent.

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Sounds like you were fortunate to have multiple people around, an AED nearby, and someone well-trained. You’re probably right that AED helped prevent physical damage, though that may also be due to good technique and or your anatomy. The sooner that the AED goes on and restarts sinus rhythm, the fewer compressions required.

Happy to hear you are doing better.

Yep it happened at a boat race, so there were paramedics already on-site. On one hand I was told to avoid competitive-intensity sports in the future, but I was also super fortunate that it all played out at a boat race and not while climbing some mountain. And having the ICD means I can still hike non-strenuous mountains.

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