WEYMOUTH, MA – With the use of a defibrillator, an employee and a member at a Planet Fitness in Weymouth, MA, helped save the life of another member who suffered a heart attack after he worked out on an elliptical trainer.
The Planet Fitness member, whose name was not released, suffered the heart attack the morning of Aug. 30. Paul Basile, a retired firefighter trained in CPR, was working behind the counter that day. Basile and another member, who also is a nurse, grabbed the club’s portable defibrillator to use on the fallen victim.
Basile told WBZ-TV that after he administered CPR on the man, he attached the paddles. The defibrillator analyzed the man’s heart rhythm and displayed the message, “Don’t shock him. Keep giving CPR.”
A new Massachusetts law requires all health clubs in the state to have a defibrillator. Health clubs must comply with the state’s law by January.
The Planet Fitness club had had the defibrillator for only a month.