Lady Gaga Fan Resuscitated At Nashville Concert Then Cooled Through Therapeutic Hypothermia
By Chris Cannon
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Lady Gaga fan died and was brought back to life at the singer's Tuesday night's concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. But the quick thinking of a friend and medical staff saved her life.
33-year-old Crystal Thornton said she had been looking forward to the concert for five years. She and her best friend, Christina Tugman, had seats in section 103.
"(We were) Just laughing, cutting up like we always do," Tugman explained.
During the opening act Tugman noticed Thornton was suffering from what seemed to be a seizure.
"Here body was twitching, she had stopped breathing, her eyes were in the back of her head and I grabbed her face, screaming out her, trying to get her awake," Tugman said.
Tugman waved down an usher who paged the onsite medics. A Vanderbilt LifeFlight EMT supervisor immediately responded and found Thornton was unconscious and had no heartbeat.
"The were able to get a defibrillator on her, perform CPR on her and defibrillate her heart, shocking it back into normal rhythm in just a few minutes," Dr. John McPherson explained.
Thornton was then rushed to Vanderbilt University Hospital's emergency department.
Upon arrival at Vanderbilt, Thornton's body was cooled through therapeutic hypothermia protocol because she was at risk for anoxic brain injury due to prolonged lack of oxygen.
Thornton was then transported to the cardiovascular intensive care unit and continued the cooling therapy.
Thornton regained consciousness, and her neurologic status has improved daily. A series of tests was run to determine why she suffered a cardiac arrest at such a young age. Physicians determined that she has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart. Doctors said it is a genetic condition with no warning symptoms and often results in an emergency situation.
"If she had been at home, alone, without anybody around she would not have survived," Dr. McPherson said.
Thornton will undergo surgery on Monday to receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that will automatically restore her heartbeat should she ever experience another cardiac arrest.
Thornton was upset she missed the concert and said she has no recollection of what happened.
Thornton has a history of unexpected deaths in her family, and this genetic heart condition could be to blame. Her family members will now be tested in hopes of preventing a similar medical emergency in the future.
- 0 Comment(s)
Your comment