Kevin Searing's survival was dependent on what the association calls the "Chain of Survival."
ROBBINSVILLE -- An Allentown man is alive today because his family and a neighbor teamed up to do everything right when he suffered a heart attack last fall, the American Heart Association said.
Kevin Searing's survival was dependent on what the association calls the "Chain of Survival" and his story was one of 41 honored recently as an American Heart Association 2016 New Jersey American Heartsaver Award.
The awards ceremony was held at the Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton Center for Health & Wellness in Hamilton.
Searing, who works in Mercer County, went into sudden cardiac arrest on October 14, 2015, the association said.
His wife Anne Marie Searing found him in distress and immediately started CPR.
The Searings' daughter, Alexandra Searing, dialed 911, and while performing CPR, Anne Marie called their her neighbor Michael Conroy, who she knew was an EMT with the Allentown First Aid Squad.
Conroy was home and moments later he was at Kevin's side, assisting with the CPR, the association said.
Paramedics arrived and they gave Searing two shocks from an automatic external defibrillator, or AED, which stabilized his heartbeat.
"Doctors commented that without the quick actions of Anne Marie, Alexandra and Mike, Kevin would not have survived," the association said in a statement.
Given immediately, CPR doubles or triples survival rates and executing the "Chain of Survival" can save thousands of lives annually, the association says.
The five critical steps, or "links" in the chain are:
- early access and know the warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack and stroke and calling 911
- early CPR
- early defibrillation
- advanced care
- then integrated post-cardiac arrest care
Nearly 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital every year, and only 10% survive, the association says.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.