What do you do when you feel chest discomfort and you know it’s more than just catching your breath?
For 53-year-old Chris Favorin, he knew he was having a heart attack.
He had just finished a heavy workout and could have been just trying to catch his breath but he knew it was more than that. He was having a heart attack.
And it wasn’t just a heart attack, it was a widowmaker.
Even though he was already feeling the symptoms, shortness of breath, cold sweats, and severe chest pain, he was able to drag himself to his neighbor’s porch to ask for help. He still managed to ring the doorbell before he bent over from the pain.
His fiancée, Beth, was close behind him and waited for the homeowner to come out.
It wasn’t a coincidence that they trekked over to this particular house. It turns out their neighbors, a married couple, were Rachel, a nurse practitioner, and Christopher, a firefighter/EMT. They knew what to do in a medical emergency like this.
And when they opened the door and discovered Chris on his hands and knees on their porch.
Christopher immediately performed CPR on Chris while Rachel called an ambulance. Beth was unsure what to do and was grateful her neighbors were medical professionals. She was so worried for Chris, especially since they were getting married in five weeks.
“We started doing what we needed to do,” Christopher said.
The widowmaker is the most dangerous type of heart attack and is almost always fatal. The widowmaker happens when there’s a blood clot at the origin, the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. And because the LAD occupies a big part of the heart, any blockage to it is dangerous.
Chris might not have realized he was suffering from a widowmaker at that moment but he’s definitely grateful his compassionate neighbors were there to help him.
Christopher performed CPR on Chris for 14 minutes before they were able to get a pulse. Then his heart stopped again for another two minutes but they were able to bring him back to life a second time.
“I believe God put them in my path that day,” Chris said. “Without them being there, I know I would not have made it.”
Beth was also grateful they brought back the man she was going to marry.
“They’re heroes in my eyes; the best neighbors anyone can have,” Beth added.
In fact, Chris and Beth were so grateful that they officially invited Christopher and Rachel to their wedding as their special guests.
“I’m very blessed,” Chris declared. “Because without them, we, I, wouldn’t be here.”
What are the signs to look out for when it comes to a heart attack?
The first sign is always chest discomfort or pain followed by lightheadedness. Then it escalates to jaw, neck, or back pain, then a discomfort in the arm or shoulder, and finally, shortness of breath.
If you already feel the first sign, immediately call 911.
And before this even happens to you, get to know the medical professionals among your neighbors so you know who to go to when in need of medical help.
Watch how these neighbors were able to save Chris in the video below.
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