Ed Zasacky

I’m a bit of a fitness fanatic, have followed a healthy diet, and never had a hint of heart problems. But while playing tennis at the Smuggler Racquet Club on a September afternoon I suddenly blacked out, fell to my knees, and I’m told then slumped to the ground. My heart was out of rhythm from ventricular fibrillation. My tennis partner dashed to the office of club manager John Phillips and asked him to call 911. John ran to my side while making the call, and found no heartbeat or breathing, so he immediately started continuous chest compression CPR. He had learned about the technique from previous chats with the Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol. He compressed my chest 300 times before the police arrived and took over CPR. The ambulance was there within six minutes of getting the call. Had by standers waited for the ambulance to arrive before taking action, I could have suffered severe brain damage or more likely would have died.