LI teen saves dad having heart attack

When she saw her father collapse of a heart attack after shoveling snow at their Merrick home last week, Colleen Oggeri thought of all he would miss in her life if he died.

"I thought of my dad not being at my graduation, not being at my prom," Colleen said, breaking into tears. "I thought, 'I couldn't lose him.' "

So the 18-year-old high school senior jumped into action and administered CPR to her father as her mother, Linda, frantically called 911. "His tongue was starting to stick out. His eyes were rolling back," Colleen said. "He wasn't breathing."

Doctors said Colleen's quick thinking when he collapsed Feb. 3 saved her dad's life.

Two of the three arteries in Doug Oggeri's heart were more than 90 percent blocked, and doctors say he would have died if not for his daughter, who said she learned CPR three years ago as part of her PAL soccer training.

"I do not believe he would have survived if his daughter had not given him CPR," said Dr. Rajiv Jauhar, the director of interventional cardiology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. Oggeri underwent initial treatment at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, then was moved to LIJ, where he underwent an angioplasty and had stents implanted to open the blocked arteries.

Oggeri, 55, said he is enormously proud of Colleen, the youngest of his three children.

"I can't even say thank you. She knows I love her," he said, tenderly gazing at Colleen during a news conference Friday at LIJ. "I apologize to my family for what I put them through," he said.

In October, Oggeri was warned by his cardiologist that he was showing signs of heart blockage, but he delayed getting an angiogram for months because he had started a new job at a Port Authority heating facility at LaGuardia Airport and didn't want to take time off for the procedure.

Even with the timely intervention of CPR, Oggeri had a slim chance of surviving the massive heart attack, doctors said. "He's living proof that miracles do happen," said his cardiologist, Dr. Arun Gupta, who called Colleen an "angel."

Oggeri was expected to be discharged Friday and will wear a LifeVest for the next few weeks. Described as a wearable automatic external defibrillator, the device will monitor his heart rate around the clock. If his heart stops beating, the LifeVest will automatically administer a shock. He may need a defibrillator implanted for long-term care, Jauhar said.

Colleen, a student at Calhoun High School, said she had only practiced CPR on a mannequin during training. "I didn't think I would ever have to use it," she said. But she said that she didn't hesitate to help her father. "My adrenaline kicked in," she said.

Her father said he will give up shoveling snow and plans to watch his daughter go off to college this fall to study nursing.

"It's the gift of life," he said, and hugged his girl.

The LifeVest

A wearable automatic external defibrillator that constantly monitors a patient's heartrate.

How it works: The FDA-approved device is lightweight and is powered by a rechargeable external battery. It straps to the patient's chest and has two sensors near the heart. If the device registers the heart entering cardiac arrest, the LifeVest will automatically administer a shock.

Use: The LifeVest has been prescribed to more than 30,000 patients, according to the website of manufacturer ZOLL Medical Corp. based in Massachusetts.

Cost: Usually covered by insurance but it can cost about $100 a day out of pocket, according to LIJ medical staff.