Arlington Hts. tennis center worker saves life with club's defibrillator

For Evan Goodman, 2009 will be extra special because he almost wasn't around to see it.

Goodman, 68, suffered a severe heart attack on Dec. 15, seconds after his weekly tennis match at the Heritage Tennis Center in Arlington Heights. There wasn't any chest clutching. No piercing pain. A week earlier he had passed his yearly physical with flying colors.

"Maybe I felt a little heaviness in my chest but nothing unusual," he said. "I was told I walked into the changing room. I don't remember doing that."

In the locker room, Goodman's heart stopped and he slumped to floor.

The club's assistant, Rob Laue, was at the front desk when he heard someone yell, "Call 911!" He grabbed the defibrillator off the wall and ran into the locker room.

"I was nervous, but I didn't panic - although I'm getting a little nervous just thinking about it now," Laue said with a deep breath and a smile. "I mean, you train for this, but you never really think it's going to happen."

When Laue reached Goodman, he was lying on his back and not breathing. Laue hooked up the defibrillator's pads to Goodman's chest and pressed the shock button. Then he gave Goodman 30 chest compressions before the paramedics arrived and took over.

Later, doctors told Goodman, a Riverwoods resident, one of his arteries was completely blocked. He underwent surgery and spent four days recovering at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

"Knight in shining armor," said Goodman, who dropped by the tennis club recently to see Laue. "If he didn't do what he did, I wouldn't be here. I wanted to say thanks. People don't say thanks enough."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," said Goodman's wife, Sandy, before embracing Laue, 31, of Round Lake Beach.

Laue shrugged off the pretty huge "you-saved-my-life" compliment. Instead, he thanked Goodman for giving him an exciting tale to share with friends and relatives during the holidays.

"It's a great moment for me," Laue said. "Forever, I'll have this story. Years from now, I'll have this story."

In 2004, Illinois passed a state law requiring defibrillators - machines that measure a person's heartbeat and, if necessary, shock the heart back into a healthy rhythm - be installed at all fitness facilities. By 2007, all pools, fitness centers and golf courses run by the Arlington Heights Park District had defibrillators, said Jim Glueckert, the district's director of recreation and facilities.

Dr. Gilbert Sita, chief of Northwest Community Hospital's cardiology department, said defibrillators are critical. After a heart attack, brain damage can occur when the heart stops or has an irregular beat for an extended period.

Manual defibrillators work by giving the heart a controlled electric shock, forcing all the heart muscles to contract at once and, ideally, jolting it back into a regular rhythm, according to the American Red Cross.

Historically, only trained medical professionals were able to interpret the heart rhythms on manual defibrillator devices. However, today's automated external defibrillators - like the one Laue used - have embedded computer chips that analyze heart rhythms instantly and accurately, making it possible for nonmedical professionals to administer the same vital service without risking an accidental shock.

"They not only save lives, they save brain function," Sita said.

Typically, they cost between $1,200 and $1,600.

Goodman, a dentist, has been coming to the Arlington Heights tennis club for 30 years for matches with his friends. He also works out at a gym hear his Libertyville office. Before his heart attack, he and Laue never had really talked. Goodman didn't even know the club had a defibrillator, which was back on the wall when the two revisited each other.

A few days after being released from the hospital, the lanky Goodman still appeared athletic, if a little tired. He's working to recover while Sandy makes sure he eats only healthy foods.

"All low salt," said Goodman, his wife nodding behind him. "All low fat."

What he's not doing is dwelling on the past and what might have been.

"I mean, think about it, if it happened 15 minutes later when I was driving home, we wouldn't be having this conversation," he said.

Goodman plans to return to tennis one day. He'll be back to work later this week.

Heart: Defibrillators also save brain function