Defibrillation aboard a commercial aircraft.

A 53-year-old executive (6 ft 3 in tall; 327 lb) with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and coronary artery disease (coronary artery angioplasty in 1995) was traveling with his wife on vacation and ran to catch a connecting flight. The plane had closed the doors for takeoff when his wife noted that he was unresponsive. A flight attendant brought out the on-board automatic external defibrillator (AED; “ForeRunner,” Heartstream) and was assisted by a passenger with paramedic …