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CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
‘Angels in the sky': Doctor saves man's life during flight
OKLAHOMA (KOCO) -- An Oklahoma doctor saved a man's life during a flight in April, using his medical expertise and a special tool to keep the passenger safe. T.J. Trad, an invasive cardiologist with Stillwater Medical Center, detailed the moments and how he used a portable EKG monitor to stabilize the passenger experiencing chest pain. 'He was very anxious, he said, and 'I'm going to die,' and the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Not today,'' said Trad. Trad was returning to the U.S. after working with about 100 patients for free through his organization, Cura for the World and Project Orphans, when a passenger began experiencing chest pain. Courtney Wood, a nurse travelling with Dr. Trad, alerted him to the situation, prompting him to immediately assist the passenger. Dr. Trad used a KardiaMobile Card, a portable EKG monitor, to assess the man's condition 30,000 feet in the air. 'I asked him on a scale from 0-10, 10 being the most intense pain you've ever had. He said, 'I'm at a 10,'' Trad said. Working with other healthcare professionals on board, they managed to reduce the man's pain to zero within about 30 minutes and kept him stable until the plane landed in Amsterdam. 'The nurse that was sitting at bedside, she was getting vitals every 5-10 minutes. So, she was getting his heart rate, his pulse ox, his blood pressure, and she was documenting that on a piece of paper,' Trad said. 'They gave me a seat right next to the door, where the pilot is, so that I can give him updates.' Reflecting on the incident, Dr. Trad described it as a full-circle moment, having experienced a heart attack himself while working to save another life. 'You try your best to act very fast during moments like that, but having felt what this patient had felt, or what other patients had felt, makes me a better doctor, a lot more compassionate, a lot more empathetic,' he said. The patient, who spent the night in the hospital and was discharged the next day, is reportedly doing OK. Trad humbly attributed the successful outcome to divine intervention. 'His wife hugged me, and she said we were her angels in the sky, and that was very, very sweet,' he said. Dr. Trad advises travellers to carry items like nitroglycerin or aspirin in case of a cardiovascular emergency. He remains focused on his foundation's clinics, including one in Creek County.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Meant to be': Oklahoma cardiologist treats man's heart attack symptoms mid-flight
An Oklahoma cardiologist had a full circle moment when a Dutch man complained of chest pains on their shared flight. Dr. TJ Trad, a cardiologist at Stillwater Medical Center and founder of the nonprofit Cura for the World Foundation, was traveling home from a medical mission trip in Uganda when he was awoken on the flight to Amsterdam, CNN reported. A man was complaining of chest pain and needed a doctor, he was told by a nurse on his team. Trad found the man drenched in sweat, and he asked the doctor, "Am I going to die?" "Not today," Trad told him before getting to work. Trad had the medications needed to treat a heart attack on hand — including nitroglycerin, Aspirin, Plavix, metoprolol and lisinopril — part of the around two dozen medications he carries with him on medical mission in case anyone on his team has an emergency. But Trad, 43, also had a pocket-sized electrocardiogram, which he carries with him since having his own heart scare last year. One February morning in 2024, just days before he was scheduled to fly to Uganda for a planned medical mission trip, Trad said he was doing a procedure on a patient when he began having chest pain. He was experiencing an 80% blockage in one of his arteries — he had a stent placed that same day and canceled his trip to Uganda. As a way to mark the one year anniversary of his cardiac scare, Trad finished the climb to Everest Base Camp at the beginning of March. "I believe that everything happens for a reason, as cliche as that might sound," Trad said. "Maybe the event that occurred a year ago was the nidus for me to be on that specific plane to help that specific person. Every time, let's say something negative or positive happens, it's good to kind of sit back and reflect on what's the downstream effect of that? So yeah, I feel like we were meant to be on that flight to help." Not only does Trad believe he was meant to be on the flight to help the Dutch man, but he has the same sense regarding the trip to Uganda. While on their trip, Trad met an 8-month-old girl with a 7.8 millimeter ventricular septal defect. The funds have already been raised to cover her heart surgery, which should be taking place soon, he said. "What are the chances that a cardiologist would appear at that specific time in her life ... it's one of those things," Trad said. "It's not a coincidence." The man on the plane told Trad his chest pain, on a scale of 1 to 10, was a 10. It was a pain Trad had warned his patients about, but also one he had felt himself. About 15 minutes after Trad gave him medication, the man's chest pain was gone. But the doctor and nurse continually monitored his symptoms, checking his heart rhythm every five to 10 minutes for the duration of the flight. "After his symptoms subsided, I told the pilot, 'We bought time to get to Amsterdam so that he can go to the hospital there,'" Trad said. CNN reported that the man was examined for 12 hours at the hospital and was not diagnosed with a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism — possibly as a result of Trad's treatment of the patient. Before going their separate ways, the man's wife told Trad, "You're our angel in the sky." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma doctor treats heart attack symptoms on flight home from Uganda
NDTV
19-05-2025
- Health
- NDTV
How This Doctor And His Pocket-Sized Tool On Plane Saved A Man's Life
An Oklahoma cardiologist, aboard the same flight as a passenger who showed symptoms of a heart attack, saved him, thanks to quick thinking and a pocket-sized electrocardiogram, or ECG. Last month, Oklahoma cardiologist Dr TJ Trad was on his way from Uganda when a teammate informed him that a patient needed medical attention. As Mr Trad hurried to assist, he found a man sweating profusely and complaining of chest pain. He believed the man was experiencing a heart attack. Mr Trad, who survived a heart attack a year ago, was carrying a pocket-sized electrocardiogram, or ECG. The gadget is the size of a credit card. He was returning home from a medical trip in Uganda with 'Cura for the World', and also had the necessary equipment and drugs to save the man's life. According to the doctor, the patient said his chest pain was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Mr Trad then set up a temporary emergency room across a row of seats using airline pillows, placed the man down, and raised his feet to restore blood flow to his heart. Following the exclusion of blood clot and blood sugar issues, the doctor used a 12-lead electrocardiogram from the medical mission trip to determine whether the man was experiencing a heart attack. He immediately administered five drugs commonly used to treat heart attacks. Trad then monitored the man's heart for irregular beats, or arrhythmias, using his own KardiaMobile ECG, which analyses the electrical activity of the heart. Since his own heart attack last year, Trad has carried the KardiaMobile card in his wallet in case he experiences another cardiac incident. When the man placed his thumbs on the card, it used Bluetooth to send information about his heart activity to the doctor's app. The 12-lead ECG was essential in confirming that the man was experiencing heart attack symptoms. The card also enabled him to continuously check for arrhythmias for the next three hours. "A cardiac attack can subsequently show as an arrhythmia. That's how people die," Mr Trad explained to CNN. The doctor confirmed that 45 minutes after taking the medication, the man's chest pain and heart rate began to improve. The man's wife told CNN that Mr Trad and a nurse did an "unforgettable job" in keeping her husband's health from worsening. The man remained steady for the next two hours of the journey. As the plane was ready to land, his chest pain resurfaced, but Mr Trad said he was fine after taking more medication.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A man had heart attack symptoms on a flight. A cardiologist and a pocket-sized tool on board may have helped save his life
Oklahoma cardiologist Dr. TJ Trad was fast asleep on his flight from Uganda last month when a member of his team woke him up to say someone needed a doctor. Trad rushed over to the passenger who needed help to find a man drenched with sweat and complaining of chest pain. The man looked at the doctor and anxiously asked, 'am I going to die?' 'Not today,' Trad told the man. He believed that the man in front of him was having a heart attack – pain the doctor was intimately familiar with after surviving one just last year. Trad also knew he had the tools that might help save the man's life if it was a heart attack: medication and medical devices he had on him because he was flying home from a medical mission trip in Uganda with Cura for the World – an organization he founded that builds clinics in areas of need. He also had a pocket-sized electrocardiogram, or ECG – something he never leaves home without after his own heart attack. The device, about the size of a credit card, would be a crucial tool in understanding the man's symptoms. Now he just had to get to work. It was three hours into the April 29 KLM flight to Amsterdam when Trad was thrust into emergency response mode. The patient said that on a scale of one to 10, his chest pain was at a 10. 'Do we land right now?' Trad recalled the man's wife nervously asking. Trad realized the first step was to calm down the Dutch couple, nearby passengers and flight crew. 'I think our training is so extensive that you almost get trained to be the captain of the ship and to calm everyone around you,' he said. Trad then created a makeshift emergency room across a row of airplane seats, laid the man down with airplane pillows and propped his feet up to bring blood back to his heart. After ruling out blood sugar and blood clot complications, the doctor used a 12-lead ECG from the medical mission trip to assess whether the man was having a heart attack. He quickly gave him five medications typically used to treat heart attacks. Trad then used his personal ECG – an electrocardiogram that measures the heart's electrical activity – to help monitor the man's heart for abnormal beats, or arrhythmias. Trad has kept the device, a KardiaMobile card, in his wallet ever since his heart attack last year in case he has another cardiac event. 'The later manifestation of a heart attack is an arrhythmia. That's how people die,' Trad explained. Although the 12-lead ECG was crucial to confirm the man was showing symptoms of a heart attack, the doctor said the card allowed him to continually monitor for arrhythmias in the three hours that followed. The man put his thumbs on the card, and it transmitted data on his heart activity to Trad's app via Bluetooth. Within 45 minutes after he took the medication, the man's chest pain and heart rate started to get better, the doctor said. Trad's own heart attack had prevented him from going on his medical mission trip to Uganda in February 2024, leading him to go on a make-up trip that put him on the same plane as the man he helped save. The doctor said his heart attack led to him being in the right place at the right time. 'I believe everything happens for a reason, I truly do,' he said. During the ordeal, the pilot asked if they should divert the flight to Tunisia after speaking with the KLM on-ground physician, but Trad assured the crew that the patient was stable enough to make it to Amsterdam. 'We had a nurse that was taking his vitals every 10 to 15 minutes… and we had him hooked up to all these things… if we would have landed in Tunisia, they wouldn't have done anything differently other than obviously taking him to get a heart cath,' Trad said, referring to the catheterization procedure that allows doctors to examine or treat the heart and coronary arteries. The man was stable throughout the remaining two hours of the flight. His chest pain returned as the plane was about to land, but additional medication resolved it, Trad said. The man's wife told CNN that Trad and a nurse helped prevent her husband's condition from getting worse and did an 'unforgettable job.' Once they landed, the man thanked the doctor and his wife hugged him 'very, very tight.' 'She said that you're our angel in the sky,' Trad recalled. KLM told CNN the plane landed safely at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, where an ambulance was waiting to take the man to a nearby hospital. The man's wife said he is doing reasonably well considering the traumatic event. The hospital examined him for 12 hours and did not diagnose him with a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism, she told CNN. Trad believes this could be because of his timely treatment of the patient. After having to cancel his Uganda trip last year because of his own heart attack, Trad said that helping save this man feels like a full circle moment for him. He told the man it was a pleasure taking care of him and wished him the best before he ran to catch his connecting flight home.
CNN
18-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
A man had heart attack symptoms on a flight. A cardiologist and a pocket-sized tool on board may have helped save his life
Heart disease Chronic diseases Aviation news AfricaFacebookTweetLink Follow Oklahoma cardiologist Dr. TJ Trad was fast asleep on his flight from Uganda last month when a member of his team woke him up to say someone needed a doctor. Trad rushed over to the passenger who needed help to find a man drenched with sweat and complaining of chest pain. The man looked at the doctor and anxiously asked, 'am I going to die?' 'Not today,' Trad told the man. He believed that the man in front of him was having a heart attack – pain the doctor was intimately familiar with after surviving one just last year. Trad also knew he had the tools that might help save the man's life if it was a heart attack: medication and medical devices he had on him because he was flying home from a medical mission trip in Uganda with Cura for the World – an organization he founded that builds clinics in areas of need. He also had a pocket-sized electrocardiogram, or ECG – something he never leaves home without after his own heart attack. The device, about the size of a credit card, would be a crucial tool in understanding the man's symptoms. Now he just had to get to work. It was three hours into the April 29 KLM flight to Amsterdam when Trad was thrust into emergency response mode. The patient said that on a scale of one to 10, his chest pain was at a 10. 'Do we land right now?' Trad recalled the man's wife nervously asking. Trad realized the first step was to calm down the Dutch couple, nearby passengers and flight crew. 'I think our training is so extensive that you almost get trained to be the captain of the ship and to calm everyone around you,' he said. Trad then created a makeshift emergency room across a row of airplane seats, laid the man down with airplane pillows and propped his feet up to bring blood back to his heart. After ruling out blood sugar and blood clot complications, the doctor used a 12-lead ECG from the medical mission trip to assess whether the man was having a heart attack. He quickly gave him five medications typically used to treat heart attacks. Trad then used his personal ECG – an electrocardiogram that measures the heart's electrical activity – to help monitor the man's heart for abnormal beats, or arrhythmias. Trad has kept the device, a KardiaMobile card, in his wallet ever since his heart attack last year in case he has another cardiac event. 'The later manifestation of a heart attack is an arrhythmia. That's how people die,' Trad explained. Although the 12-lead ECG was crucial to confirm the man was showing symptoms of a heart attack, the doctor said the card allowed him to continually monitor for arrhythmias in the three hours that followed. The man put his thumbs on the card, and it transmitted data on his heart activity to Trad's app via Bluetooth. Within 45 minutes after he took the medication, the man's chest pain and heart rate started to get better, the doctor said. Trad's own heart attack had prevented him from going on his medical mission trip to Uganda in February 2024, leading him to go on a make-up trip that put him on the same plane as the man he helped save. The doctor said his heart attack led to him being in the right place at the right time. 'I believe everything happens for a reason, I truly do,' he said. During the ordeal, the pilot asked if they should divert the flight to Tunisia after speaking with the KLM on-ground physician, but Trad assured the crew that the patient was stable enough to make it to Amsterdam. 'We had a nurse that was taking his vitals every 10 to 15 minutes… and we had him hooked up to all these things… if we would have landed in Tunisia, they wouldn't have done anything differently other than obviously taking him to get a heart cath,' Trad said, referring to the catheterization procedure that allows doctors to examine or treat the heart and coronary arteries. The man was stable throughout the remaining two hours of the flight. His chest pain returned as the plane was about to land, but additional medication resolved it, Trad said. The man's wife told CNN that Trad and a nurse helped prevent her husband's condition from getting worse and did an 'unforgettable job.' Once they landed, the man thanked the doctor and his wife hugged him 'very, very tight.' 'She said that you're our angel in the sky,' Trad recalled. KLM told CNN the plane landed safely at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, where an ambulance was waiting to take the man to a nearby hospital. The man's wife said he is doing reasonably well considering the traumatic event. The hospital examined him for 12 hours and did not diagnose him with a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism, she told CNN. Trad believes this could be because of his timely treatment of the patient. After having to cancel his Uganda trip last year because of his own heart attack, Trad said that helping save this man feels like a full circle moment for him. He told the man it was a pleasure taking care of him and wished him the best before he ran to catch his connecting flight home.
