Mass. Police Officers' 'Quick Thinking' Saves Woman Having Heart Attack

Police received a report of a woman choking at AMC Braintree 10 on Saturday, but when police officers arrived and began abdominal thrusts to dislodge whatever she was choking on it didn’t work.

The woman, police said, was actually having a heart attack.

Officer Chris Horigan with the Braintree Police Department found the woman no longer had a pulse. Working with a bystander, the two of them started CPR while another officer, Mark Gibbons, went to get the medical kit, a statement read.

Hearing the call for CPR, Officer Matt Columbus and Sgt. Brian Jenkins from the South Shore Plaza also responded with an automated external defibrillator.

“Once the pads were on, the AED analyzed the patient and determined a shock was necessary,” police said in a statement. “By the time Brewster EMS arrived on scene, the woman had regained a pulse and was able to respond to EMS.”

Police later learned the woman had vomited about 45 minutes before, a warning sign she was having a heart attack.

Mayo Clinic said that “because women’s heart attack symptoms can differ from men’s, women might be diagnosed less often with heart disease than are men.”

Some symptoms might include nausea, shortness of breath, unusual fatigue or heartburn.

“Thanks to Officer Horigan’s quick response and quick thinking under pressure, along with excellent teamwork and control of the situation by all officers present, this incident had a very positive outcome,” the statement read.

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