East Meadow rescue crew revives man at gym

Rescue workers successfully revived a man whose heart stopped as he worked out yesterday morning at a gym in the Nassau County Aquatic Center in Eisenhower Park.

The 66-year-old man had been exercising when he suddenly collapsed shortly before 10 a.m., said Carl Pugliese, chief of department of the East Meadow Fire Department.

The man, whose name was not released, did not have a pulse and was not breathing, Pugliese said.

Lifeguards at the East Meadow facility used an automated external defibrillator and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation until rescue crews from the fire department arrived.

Pugliese said his crew, led by Lt. Giovanni Bautista, continued the resuscitation effort and was able to restart the man's heart and breathing, although the man remained unconscious.

The man was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for treatment.

Pugliese said the man has since been moved to the cardiac-care unit and that he was expected to make a full recovery.

Pugliese said he credited the quick response of both his team and the lifeguards at the facility for saving the man's life.

"These things are a lot more rare than people realize," Pugliese said.

"It's not all about TV -- you see it every week, they bring everybody back. It's not always like that."