61 year old hockey player saved by teammates after heart attack on ice

Hockey fans have seen some truly frightening incidents in recent years involving players suffering cardiac arrest while in action. The names of Jiri Fischer and Rich Peverley will forever be associated with some of the scariest moments during an NHL game, though thankfully both men are alive and well to talk about their experiences. 

While he may not be a professional in the NHL, a 61 year old South Carolina man was saved by the quick action of his teammates after he went into cardiac arrest during a recent game. 

James Pitts was saved thanks to his teammates springing into action during the incident, which took place in March earlier this year. 

"The first thing out of my mouth was, 'what the heck happened,' you know?" Pitts said. "And Dave said, 'dude you were dead for like four or five minutes.'" 

According to Tom Donnelly, who is a CPR trainer, the chest compressions that he performed were the most important step in preventing tragedy. 

"Within 30 seconds, chest compressions were started, which is the most important thing you can do," Donnelly said.

"Luckily everything worked out fantastic — just really lucky the stars were aligned and it was also lucky that it happened at the ice rink which is only one exit, about 2 miles from Trident Medical Center," Pitts said.

However, he's refusing to give up playing the game that he loves.