3 passers-by help save woman who had heart attack at Woodlands coffee shop

Navy serviceman Mark Lim, 32, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for seven minutes to revive the woman. She was unconscious when she was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital by the SCDF. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

SINGAPORE - Three passers-by helped to save a 56-year-old woman who had a heart attack while having dinner at a coffee shop in Woodlands on Tuesday (July 24).

The woman's son, Mr Stanley Ng, 38, told Chinese-language daily Lianhe Wanbao that his mother had been admitted to hospital in February 2018 for cardiovascular disease.

According to the woman's husband, she fainted suddenly while eating and became unresponsive on Tuesday.

Two men and a woman were nearby and assisted her. The Straits Times understands that at least one of them had the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) myResponder app on their phone, which alerts registered volunteers of nearby cases of cardiac arrest.

One of the men, navy serviceman Mark Lim, 32, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for seven minutes to revive the woman. According to a post on Facebook by Mr Ng, two other passers-by also helped to save his mother.

A man in an SMRT uniform injured his hand while breaking a pane of glass to retrieve an automated external defibrillator (AED) from a nearby Housing Board block, and a female jogger helped to use the AED on Mr Ng's mother.

The AED analysed the woman's cardiac rhythms and applied electric shock to treat her.

In response to queries, the SCDF said that it responded to a request for medical assistance at Block 892C Woodlands Drive 50 at 6.40pm. The woman was unconscious when she was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Mr Ng wrote on Facebook that his mother would pull through, and that he was grateful to the three passers-by and wished to thank them.

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