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Co-Workers, Paramedics Credited With Saving Man's Life At Heinz Field

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Paramedics and a man's co-workers are being credited with saving his life after he went into cardiac arrest Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department, it all happened just after 12:30 p.m. at Heinz Field.

Co-workers called for help after the 50-year-old man, who is an employee there, went into cardiac arrest. His name has not been released.

City officials say when paramedics arrived, they found his co-workers performing CPR on the man.

"We teach CPR at Heinz Field and the members of the staff there, and it's good that they're able to do what they needed to do when one of their friends needed it," said John Hobdy, one of the paramedics who responded to the scene.

Paramedics took over and used a defibrillator on the man.

He went nearly 20 minutes without breathing or a pulse, officials said.

Eventually though, they got the man to respond and he was then taken to Allegheny General Hospital.

The fact that they started CPR at all; every study shows the quicker you start CPR, the better you oxygenate the organs, the higher chance of survival for a patient," Joe Ludington, the other responding paramedic.

Officials say he was conscious, alert and talking before arriving at the hospital.

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