Retired chief's life saved at base gym

Published Dec. 1, 2005
By Mike Wallace
88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFMCNS) -- Retired Chief Master Sgt. Marc Mazza was the picture of health. He'd retired from the Air Force after more than 29 years, and he joined civil service to work as chief of the commander's action group at Air Force Materiel Command headquarters.

Never a smoker, Mr. Mazza said he was always a fixture in gyms wherever he was stationed. Wright-Patterson is no exception. He has been part of the group from AFMC headquarters that goes to regular Monday, Wednesday and Friday workouts at Dodge Gym.

A believer in regular checkups, Mr. Mazza noticed during a recent one that his blood pressure was elevated as was his cholesterol, not an unusual occurrence for a 50-year-old. He said he also began noticing some discomfort, a burning in his chest, such as heartburn, except that it came on when he began to exercise and inexplicably disappeared at some point during exercise sessions.

Not wanting to take any chances, Mr. Mazza went to a doctor and underwent a stress test during which a sort of dye was injected into him. The dye could be seen by appropriate scanning equipment that checked the circulation of his blood and the action of his heart. He passed the test and was cleared to continue exercising.

The passing of that test was false-positive. Somehow, despite the dye and sophisticated analyses, Mr. Mazza was on the verge of a massive coronary event due to three, completely clogged arteries, and one nearly so.

Four weeks ago, Mr. Mazza said he walked out of the aerobics room in the basement of Dodge Gym at about 6:45 a.m. Feeling bad, he said he wanted to get a drink. He doesn't remember what happened next.

At that moment, Patti Gilmore, a fitness instructor and personal trainer who also works at the 88th Contracting Squadron, was waiting for a straggler. She recalled his face, saying it "didn't look right.

"All of a sudden he fell. I caught his left side and kept him from doing a face plant in the hallway. I yelled, 'Call 9-1-1.'"

One of Ms. Gilmore's students, Col. (Dr.) Andrew R. Monteiro, 88th Medical Group commander, helped her to lower Mr. Mazza to the floor. Another student, Debra A. Walker, a contractor with Air Force Research Laboratory, ran up the stairs, yelling "Call 9-1-1." Lt. Col. Kathleen C. Conrad, an 88th MDG deputy chief nurse, ran upstairs and got the Automated External Defibrillator.

Ms. Gilmore, who is long certified in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, and Dr. Monteiro, after assessing the situation and finding no pulse or heartbeat, began performing CPR on Mr. Mazza. After Dr. Monteiro detected breathing, Terry Fisher, of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, applied the AED pads and shocked the former chief. Maj. Carrie Dunne, an 88th MDG nurse, then did more chest compressions until the ambulance arrived.

Mr. Mazza was transported to the Wright-Patterson Medical Center, and then to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he underwent successful quadruple by-pass surgery.

"I woke up at about 1 a.m. and asked where I was," he said. "I had no idea what had happened.

"I had an uncle who had heart problems, so I guess there's a family history, but nobody understands what causes heart disease. Indications are different for different people. Some people have pain, and some people have none.

"Time is critical when something like this happens. A young doctor on the team who did the surgery just flat told me that I'd died. I'm thankful to have gotten help so quickly. If you're trained, you can do things quickly."

The urgency of Mr. Mazza's cardiac episode is an example of why Dr. Monteiro calls for CPR-EAD training for everyone.

"I have done CPR in the community," Dr. Monteiro said. "I want to help people and save lives. You never know when you might need this training."

Referring to the incident with Mr. Mazza, Dr. Monteiro said it was a team effort.

"CPR buys you a little time until you get the AED attached to the patient," he said. "The focus should be on getting everyone trained. We have a good program on this base to ensure that AEDs are deployed throughout the base.

"The CPR-AED training is important. People should train until it becomes automatic. Having a refresher course each year or every other year would be very helpful. I understand they're working on an abbreviated refresher course that you can take in 20 minutes.

"If you work in an electrical shop, for example, you should have AEDs. Anyplace with the potential for getting shocked, or where lots of people gather should have AEDs. The age of the civilian work force is getting older, and that means the risk of heart disease is greater. Anything that stresses the heart increases the risk of heart attack."

Mr. Mazza is resting now for a couple more weeks.

"We have a lot of good friends," he said "My wife didn't cook for three weeks, and somebody always brought something over to eat. It was nice of everybody to pull together to help out. My experience is that, in the Air Force, people help and offer to do things. I think it's unique to the Air Force."