The 59-year-old Michigan man had just stepped off a flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport from Mexico with his wife and was headed to a connecting flight to Michigan when he went into full cardiac arrest inside Terminal 4 just before 3:30 p.m.
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Deputies Dave Kofalk and Joe Baxter were escorting a prisoner through the airport when they were told about the stricken man, who was not breathing and had no pulse.
The deputies quickly grabbed a nearby Automated External Defibrillator device, also known as an AED, and used it to deliver a shock of electricity to revive the man’s heart beat.
Moments later, the man’s pulse and breathing started up again, and firefighter/paramedics arrived to continue treatment and take him to Broward General Medical Center.
The man underwent surgery Friday night, but his condition was not available.
