Consciousness lost

Heart drama during breakfast at the buffet in a luxury hotel

Cardiac arrest: A 66-year-old hotel guest lost consciousness at the breakfast buffet.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

A US tourist collapsed in a 5-star hotel in the heart of Vienna. A hotel employee immediately began resuscitation.

Dramatic scenes unfolded last weekend in a luxury hotel on Vienna's Ringstrasse. In the breakfast room, a 66-year-old guest, who was enjoying the sumptuous buffet, suddenly collapsed. However, an Italian employee (30) recognized the situation in a flash and immediately began first aid measures, as he had learned in his course.

The helper did not detect any vital signs
The chain of help worked perfectly. The police and ambulance raced to the scene immediately. As no vital signs could be detected, resuscitation had to be continued using chest compressions. The police officers were already preparing the defibrillator.

In the meantime, the officers took care of the severely shocked wife and the patient's companions with great empathy. As the officers were able to find out, the man was a tourist from the United States who was on a sightseeing tour of the Danube metropolis.

The professional rescue team, which arrived shortly after the police, immediately started to administer artificial respiration and put on the medical equipment. The rescue service diagnosed ventricular fibrillation. In such a case, the heart is no longer able to pump blood. Those affected become unconscious within a few seconds. A shock was then triggered using a defibrillator. The resuscitation was continued.

The emergency doctor who had been alerted had already arrived. Then the all-clear was given: pulse and breathing had resumed. After initial treatment and stabilization of the patient, the ambulance took him to Vienna General Hospital, where he was still in intensive care on Monday afternoon.

Patient had been suffering from heartburn for days
The wife also received all the information about which hospital her husband was in and how she could get there. However, the heart attack did not come without warning. It turned out that the tourist had been suffering from heartburn and chest pains for three days before he collapsed at breakfast.

The hotel did not wish to comment when asked by the "Krone". The privacy of the guests has the highest priority. Only this much: they are proud that the employee reacted quickly and correctly.