b'82021 CARES Annual Report Why CARES Matters: When a Cardiac Researchers Heart StopsCardiac arrest kept Dr. Kevin Volpps heart from beating for 14 minutes. Hes fine now thanks to high-quality CPR, an AED and more. Hes sharing his story to inspire people to learn lifesaving skills. By Jaime Aron, Senior Writer, American Heart Association News A little after 9 p.m. on a Friday in July, Dr. Kevin Volpp arrived at a restaurant in Cincinnati with his 15-year-old daughter Daphne, her squash coach and some friends. Everyone was tired and eager for a good meal.Daphne was coming off her second long, intense match of the day, with another the next morning. The tournament was important enough to have lured them away from Philadelphia on the 52nd birthday of Marjorie Volpp, Daphnes mom and Kevins wife. Kevin needed to fuel up because he was 16 days from competing in an Ironman 70.3 event. Hed never done anything like it. But when one of his older daughters suggested it, doing something so challengingand doing it with herfelt irresistible. By this night, he was easilyKevin and Marjorie Volpp with daughters Daphne, Anna and Thea in a photo in his best shape since his mid-20s.taken upon his discharge from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in July.Next to Kevin sat John White, the squash coach at Drexel University, boyfriend of Daphnes coach and himself a squash legend. Hed even been nicknamed, The Legend. A former world No. 1, his game had been all about power. For years, he held the record for the hardest shot. White ordered the filet mignon and Maine lobster tail. That sounded good to Kevin, so he ordered it, too. Chewing his first bite, Kevin reached for his water but knocked it over. Then he slumped onto the table and tumbled toward White. His heart wasnt beating. *** What happened next is a story rich in lessons about living and about avoiding death. Its about the importance of knowing CPR, why being fit always helps and whats possible when every link in the chain of survival holds firm.In November, Volppa leader at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School whose current research includes a variety of efforts to help people lower their risk of heart attacksshared his story publicly for the first time at the American Heart Associations Scientific Sessions, the organizations flagship conference. Put another way, thousands of people from around the world who are devoted to keeping hearts pumping heard from one of their own about the day this summer when his heart stopped pumping. After the last year and a half, to say we need more wins is truly an understatement, said Dr. David Harris, the attending physician in the cardiac care unit where Kevin was treated. Kevin is an absolute win. Hes a patient I will always remember. *** Before that fateful dinner, Daphne played two matches. Her second ran so long that their group was late for a dinner reservation. Her coach, Gina Stoker, and White arrived last. Daphne had been seated next to her father, but gave her seat to White. Because of that, when Volpp collapsed and rolled left, White caught him. Placing Volpp back into his chair, White thought his body felt stiff. Stoker immediately called 911. White started giving CPR. He kept going until police took over.When paramedics arrived, they connected Volpp to an AED, a portable electronic device that analyzes heart rhythm and, if needed, can deliver a shock to try restoring a normal rhythm. The machine advised that a shock was needed. They deployed it, then gave more compressions. After another shock, Volpps pulse became strong enough to take him to the ambulance. Before driving away, his pulse disappeared again, requiring a third shock.***'