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David C. Merefield, Jerry Beckham, Cardiac arrest in Antarctica — a successful outcome, Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 23, Issue 3, May 2016, taw015, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taw015
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Dear Sir,
Cardiac disease is a leading cause of death on conventional cruise ships,1 and although passengers on adventure cruises to the polar regions are required to have medical screening by their primary care physician,2 cardiac events will still occur, however infrequent.
We report a case of collapse due to ventricular fibrillation, successfully resuscitated and defibrillated on an adventure cruise ship in Antarctica.
The patient, a 55-year-old Caucasian male, boarded a tourist ship in 2015, on an adventure cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. On the evening of day 5 of the voyage, he camped out overnight on the ice in Leith Cove, Paradise Harbour. At about 0530 next morning, he complained of chest discomfort, similar to his previous myocardial infarction (2012), and was brought back on the first zodiac, and climbed up the ship’s gangway. He was met there by the ship’s doctor (DCM), who took him in the lift to the clinic two decks up. On entering the clinic with the doctor at about 0615, he collapsed.