Indian-American student saved in UK after heart stopped six times
Indian-American student saved in UK after heart stopped six times
London: An Indian American student studying in London has decided to choose a career in medicine after the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) medics saved his life after his heart stopped six times.
Atul Rao, from Seattle and a student from Baylor University in Texas, developed a blood clot in his lungs which stopped the blood flow through his heart, a condition called pulmonary embolism, and caused him to go into cardiac arrest.
After he was rushed to London’s Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Hammersmith Hospital’s heart attack centre, scans confirmed that blood clots in the lungs were blocking the flow of blood from the heart. Recently, Rao returned to the hospital in London with his parents to express his gratitude.
“Before this happened, I was starting to wonder if I was doing the right thing doing medicine and whether I should be going into business instead,” Rao told the NHS medics during the visit last month.
“But the minute I woke up I knew. I want to use my time in a productive way. I want to use my second chance at life by helping others,” he said.
Rao is in his final year of a pre-med degree which would allow him to go on to a further degree to practice medicine. On July 27, he was discovered collapsed by fellow students who raised the alarm before an Imperial College London security guard began to give him chest compressions (CPR) in the minutes ahead of London Ambulance Service crews arrived.
“The last time I saw Atul I didn’t think he was going to survive. To meet him again and speak with his parents after giving them such terrible news was a very special moment in my 18 years in this job,” said Nick Sillett, the ambulance service’s paramedic.
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