"Nobody had called emergency services, so I screamed for somebody to do so. Then I started thumping Mr. Scurlock's chest. At one point he regained consciousness and his pulse, but he was fading in and out."

--John Cai, M.D.

The glass is half empty:
October 28, 2000, was an all-around bad day for University of Iowa football fan Ray Scurlock. Not only did his beloved Hawkeyes lose a close game to Wisconsin, but he went into cardiac arrest just before halftime and nearly died.

The glass is half full:
If he were going to go into cardiac arrest, Scurlock certainly picked the right place. Not only was he in a legendary Big Ten stadium across the street from one of the world's most respected hospitals, he was at an event packed with dozens of University of Iowa Health Care medical professionals all eager to volunteer their help.

Scurlock and his wife, Midge, are Kinnick Stadium veterans. They've been watching Hawkeye home games from the same seats in Row 28 for more than 20 years. "We kind of know the people who sit around us by now," said Midge. The couple's passion for Hawkeye football began when their son, Rod Sears, played for the team in 1976-77.

The October 28 game began just like any other, without a hint that for once the drama--and heroics--would be played out in the stands. "Ray had just said something about how badly the Hawkeyes were playing," Midge recalled. "Next time I looked at him, he'd turned black. He collapsed, with his head wedged between the people in front of us."

As a nurse from two rows below began giving Scurlock mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a Wisconsin fan seated nearby shouted, "Cardiac arrest." The first physician to respond was John Cai, M.D., a UI cardiology fellow physician who was sitting in the stands nearby. At that point, Scurlock was unconscious, with no pulse and no heartbeat. "Nobody had called emergency services, so I screamed for somebody to do so," Cai said. "Then I started thumping Mr. Scurlock's chest. At one point he regained consciousness and his pulse, but he was fading in and out."

Before long, a staff person arrived with a defibrillator (standard equipment at all football games), which Cai used to shock Scurlock's heart back into action. While Cai was at work, Cardiac Cath Lab Technician Scott Nibaur performed CPR and prepared for intubation, which paramedics completed to clear Scurlock's airway.

"By the time I arrived, Dr. Cai had done cardioversion and the patient was awake," said James Fox, M.D., a UI Heart and Vascular Center cardiology fellow who was serving as backup physician at the stadium first-aid stand. "My job was really crowd control--there were so many physicians on hand who wanted to help."

Two days after his cardiac arrest, Scurlock received an implantable defibrillator in a procedure performed by Brian Olshansky, M.D., a UI Heart and Vascular Center cardiologist. The implanted defibrillator (similar to the device recently implanted in Vice President Dick Cheney) is about the size of a deck of cards and is embedded high on the left side of Scurlock's chest. A tiny computer aboard the defibrillator constantly monitors Scurlock's heartbeat and, if necessary, delivers a small electric jolt to his heart to correct flutters or rhythm irregularities.

"Mr. Scurlock's prognosis looks very promising," said Olshansky. "Anybody with heart rhythm disturbances is at risk, but the defibrillator markedly improves his chances of survival."

Last season, the Scurlocks didn't attend another football game after the cardiac arrest, opting to sit out, rest, and regroup. This season, they promise to be back. "Several of our 'seat mates' called or sent get-well cards, so I'm looking forward to seeing them," Midge said.

Anyone with questions about UI Heart and Vascular Center's multidisciplinary heart and vascular services may call UI Health Access. For consultation and referral, physicians should call UI Consult.