CPR Classes | Police sergeant’s heart stops after dialing 911

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CPR Care Considerations for the Pediatric
Post-Cardiac Arrest Patient
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Dean Oshiro has to rely on his family to fill in
the blanks when it comes to what happened on Aug.
20, 2010. Thats when the Santa Monica,
California, police sergeant survived a cardiac
arrest caused by a heart attack. Dean had come
home from a run and was lifting weights in the
garage when he suddenly came into the house and
complained he wasnt feeling well. Sandra
Oshiro, a real estate agent, was showing a house
to clients when she got a call from her
then-11-year-old daughter Taylor, asking her to
come home because Dean wasnt feeling well.
Sandra put her off initially, thinking she was
exaggerating. Only then did Taylor tell her, Dad
feels like hes having a heart attack. Sandra
told them to call 911 if they were being serious.
She rushed through the client showing, still
believing it was just an overreaction, and called
home to let them know she was on her way back.
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Thats when she learned paramedics were there,
attempting to revive her husband. I went from
thinking he was a baby and just wanted me to make
lunch to thinking he was dead, Sandra
said. Dean had felt his chest tighten and called
911. He was on the phone with the dispatcher when
his heart stopped. The couples son Colton, then
13, picked up the phone and gave the dispatcher
information to deploy help. Paramedics quickly
arrived and started CPR. They shocked Deans
heart twice with an automated external
defibrillator before getting it to resume a
normal rhythm. At the hospital, he faced
additional complications as doctors struggled to
inflate a stent after poking a pinhole-sized hole
in the artery on the way to the blockage.
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Sandra and the couples kids held a vigil at the
hospital, joined by the familys network of
friends. Dean woke up from a medically induced
coma two days later. It was an answer to my
prayers, she said. Dean returned to the
familys home in Santa Clarita a week later and
spent the next month undergoing physical therapy
and working with a nutritionist to overhaul his
diet that had previously included ice cream,
cheese and red meat. Although he had managed
high blood pressure for about a decade and had a
family history of heart disease, Dean hadnt
taken his own risk seriously. I never imagined
I would have a heart attack because I was 45 and
was pretty healthy, he said.
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The gravity of what happened hit him when he saw
that other patients in cardiac rehab were all
significantly older than him. I realized this
was going to be part of my life for the next
three or four decades, he said. Dean had to
learn to better manage his stress and be vigilant
about getting plenty of rest. As a police
officer, he faced stressful situations and worked
irregular shifts so often that he hadnt
recognized the toll it was taking on his body.
These days, he makes sleep a priority, and takes
time off if hes getting overtired.
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Im a lot more conscious of my heart health
now, he said. I used to just ignore it if I got
a headache. Now I stop to consider if it could
mean my blood pressure is too high.The Oshiros
have shared their story at community events,
including the American Heart Associations Los
Angeles and Santa Clarita Heart Walks, and
encourage others to take their heart health
seriously. Im just grateful for the time I
have with my family and all the support I have,
Dean said. Learn more about CPR Classes.
Bergenfield, NJ, Jersey City, NJ, Livingston, NJ,
and Queens, New York and Gainesville,
FL. Source https//newsarchive.heart.org
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