A punch in time saves a life

Doctor hits a 56-year-old businessman hard on the chest to revive him after he collapsed at his residence

A punch in time saves a life

Doctor hits a 56-year-old businessman hard on the chest to revive him after he collapsed at his residence

A well-timed act of violence almost miraculously brought back a man from the brink of death.

"This is my second life," said 56-year-old Sahilesh Bhatia, who literally rose from the dead last Monday, when his doctor showed presence of mind and punched him on the chest, in the process of administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Sahilesh Bhatia owes his life to the presence of mind shown by Dr Pratit Samdani

Bhatia, who runs a diamond business, was at his Napean Sea Road residence, when he suddenly collapsed. He was perspiring profusely, his discomfort compounded by chest pains and breathlessness.

Bhatia's family called for their physician, Dr Rajesh Sheth, who immediately reported at their residence. By that time, Bhatia had lost consciousness.

Sheth immediately called for the senior physician Dr Pratit Samdani, who called on the Bhatias' promptly. The doctors, surmising that the veteran was experiencing a cardiac arrest, advised that he be rushed to the hospital. While the doctors headed out, Bhatia's family supported him out of the residence.

However, Bhatia lost consciousness the moment the family stepped outside the door. Alarmed, his son Malay shouted for help, from the fourth floor of the building. "We immediately rushed back up. When I saw Bhatia, he had gone cold and pale, and we could not find a pulse on him.

I looked at the grieving relatives and decided to administer CPR right away. Miraculously, the minute I punched him hard with my fist on his chest, he came back to life," said Samdani, adding that only one out of every 10,000 patients are revived through CPR techniques.

Bhatia's daughter-in law Pooja Shah jumped behind the steering wheel and drove him to Cumballa Hill Hospital. "I engaged him in conversation throughout the drive, in an attempt to prevent him from losing consciousness again," recalled Pooja.

An ICU bed had already been kept ready for Bhatia. Contrary to the initial diagnosis, fresh medical investigation revealed that he had suffered a pulmonary embolism, caused by a blockage of the main artery of the lung owing to a condition called deep vein thrombosis.

"In his case, we suspect that the clot must have travelled from the veins in his leg to his heart, which thereafter travelled to the main artery of the lung, causing his near-death experience.

The punch to his chest possibly dislodged the clot from the artery. At the hospital, we ministered blood thinners. He will have to be on medication for the next six months," added Samdani.

When doctors took Bhatia's medical history, they found that he had been experiencing pain in his right leg for a month, but had neglected it, assuming it was muscular pain. However, it was a blood clot in that leg which had led to the embolism.