Athletic Trainer Saves Fan Suffering Cardiac Arrest

At the start of a high school basketball game, most athletic trainers are prepared to treat athletes for injuries — not the spectators in the stands. 

But athletic trainer Mark Bramble had to do just that Tuesday when a spectator suffered cardiac arrest during a varsity girl’s basketball game at Marlboro High School in New Jersey. 

After being alerted of the situation during a game between Marlboro and visiting Middleton High School, Bramble — along with a nurse that also happened to be in the stands — performed CPR and used the school’s Automated External Defibrillator to restore a pulse in the victim. Paramedics then took the spectator to a local hospital.

While the emergency was unexpected, Bramble credited the school’s Emergency Action Plan for helping ensure the best course of action was taken when the situation arose.

“Having an AED and an Emergency Action Plan in place is vital in protecting our student-athletes, as well as those who attend interscholastic athletic competitions,” said Bramble, an athletic trainer at Marlboro High school for 25 years, in an Athletic Trainers Society of New Jersey press release. 

“Every school should have an athletic trainer as the point person for implementing these Emergency Action Plans and making sure the AED is accessible and in working condition on a daily basis.”