Charlotte, N.C., July 6 – At last month's Latta Triathlon, the unthinkable happened. Eric Vogen, a 41-year-old participant from Cornelius and the picture of health, had already completed the nearly half-mile swim and 17-mile bike ride, and was within site of the finish line for the 3.1-mile run when he collapsed.

"I had just passed the Medic vehicle and remember thinking, 'Well, I guess I won't need them today!" Vogen recalls. 

But within seconds, he became dizzy.  Bystanders noticed Vogen fall and quickly summoned rescuers. In less than a minute, EMT's from North Meck Rescue and paramedics from Medic, the Mecklenburg EMS Agency, reached Vogen and determined that his heart had stopped beating. They quickly defibrillated, or delivered a controlled electric shock, to the stricken triathlete's heart, causing it to "reset" its electrical activity and begin beating again.

When the ambulance arrived about three minutes later, Vogen was awake and talking.  Like any true athlete, his first question was, "Did I finish?"  Doctors believe Vogen's heart stopped due to a series of abnormal beats which threw the heart into a chaotic rhythm.  This rhythm is one of those most treatable through the use of a defibrillator.

"Very simply, Mr. Vogen's collapse couldn't have happened in a better place," says Eric Morrison, Community Relations Coordinator for Medic.  "His heart stopped during a race being partially sponsored by Medic in an effort to promote cardiac arrest survival. He collapsed between two of our event coverage teams, on a portion of the course where spectators could quickly report what had happened."

Reunion on Tuesday

Eric Vogen will get the opportunity to meet the men and women who saved his life at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Medic headquarters, 4525 Statesville Road.

Cardiac arrest in Mecklenburg

Each year, more than 650 cardiac arrests occur in Mecklenburg County.  Unfortunately, many of the victims do not survive.  Medic's "Take Charge" campaign is working to increase cardiac arrest survival rates locally by engaging citizens to be the true "first responders" in cases of cardiac arrest, during which a patient's chance of survival decreases by as much as 10 percent for every minute with no heartbeat. The primary tools in the effort are easy-to-use automated external defibrillators (which actually talk even an untrained user through the process of saving a life) and citizen CPR.

Medic offers public CPR classes each month.  For class information, visit www.medic911.com.