Surviving Cardiac Arrest: A reason to learn CPR

Surviving Cardiac Arrest: A reason to learn CPR

Monique Anderson, MD, cardiovascular disease fellow, debuted her documentary, Surviving Cardiac Arrest: A Family’s Second Chance At Life, at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in early June.

Dr. Anderson was one of eleven Duke residents and fellows who participated in Documenting Medicine Fellowship, a program that produces documentary work exploring medical stories.

Anderson's 9-minute video tells the story of Stacy Lee, a Durham County woman who experienced cardiac arrest and received CPR for more than 50 minutes. Anderson cared for Lee in the Duke University Hospital Critical Care Unit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 8 percent of people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Dr. Anderson remembers doubting Lee would survive or be functional after the arrest. In telling her story, Anderson hoped people would find motivation to learn CPR.

Laura Svetkey, MD, professor of medicine (Nephrology), was present that night. “Dr. Anderson did a fabulous job combining an amazing human story with the clear clinical and public health message,” she said.

Two days after the debut of the documentary, Lee and 25 of her family members attended the Duke Clinical Research Institute's (DCRI) first annual CPR Awareness Day, where the documentary was shown. Spearheaded by Anderson, this was DCRI's first training day to increase knowledge of cardiac arrest and compression-only CPR. Learn more at Duke Today.