Dr. Oz speaks out about reviving man at Newark Airport
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Dr. Mehmet Oz helped save the life of a man who had gone into cardiac arrest and collapsed at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The incident happened in the baggage claim area in Terminal C at around 11 p.m. Monday night.
Port Authority Police say Officer Jeffrey Croissant was on patrol when he witnessed a man fall to the floor in the baggage claim area.
Officer Croissant rushed to the man who was not breathing and did not have a pulse, according to authorities. He then called for back-up immediately and began CPR on the man.
Dr. Oz told "Good Morning America" exclusively that he was returning home from Florida when his daughter yelled to get her dad's attention.
"I turned to see what had gone wrong, and I saw this gentleman had face-planted, basically, with a pool of blood under his head where he smacked onto the ground," he said.
Dr. Oz's daughter screamed for her father who came running over and immediately discovered the man had no heartbeat and had turned blue.
"It's that soul-sappy moment when you realize you're losing a life," Oz said.
Authorities say Dr. Oz and several other officers flipped the man onto his back, began chest compressions, and ultimately used a defibrillator to revive him.
"(The defibrillator) diagnosed that his heart had stopped, as I had thought was the case when I couldn't get a pulse. It told us to step away. And you've seen those movies where the patient gets shocked and they jerk off the ground? That's exactly what happened. Usually, the heart doesn't start again ... in this case, like the movies, his heart started," Oz said.
The 60-year-old man had a heart attack, but is now in intensive care and is undergoing further evaluation at a New Jersey hospital.
Oz said he's stayed in communication with the man's wife to make sure he is OK. He's "awake and alert and neurologically intact," he said.
Oz has used his publicity from the incident to encourage CPR and defibrillator training.
"As a physician and a human being, it's our responsibility to jump in when there's a medical emergency. Another critical reminder of how important it is to take the time to learn how to do CPR and use a defibrillator. You could save a life," Oz said in a statement about the incident Tuesday.
This isn't the first time Dr. Oz sprang into action. Back in 2013, he rushed to tend to a tourist who was hit by a cab near Rockefeller Center.
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