CPR and AED save life of bodybuilder who went into cardiac arrest at Colorado gym
A Colorado man is making it a mission to spread awareness about heart health and the importance of learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation after a video featuring him having a health episode went viral.
Mark Reynolds, a fitness enthusiast and UFC gym owner in Lone Tree, has been lifting weights for years.
"I found bodybuilding because it is independent and nobody else can help you," said Reynolds.
The feeling of being invincible and independent is common amongst bodybuilders, but last November during a workout session he became helpless.
"I couldn't help myself I was pretty much done," said Reynolds.
Reynolds was working out, lifting weights, when all of a sudden, he collapsed to the floor under full cardiac arrest.
"At the time I didn't really know what was going on, I got tunnel vision and essentially I was out," said Reynolds.
He was working out at a VASA gym a day after Thanksgiving and says he took a little too much pre-workout combined with prescription medication, which resulted in him going under cardiac arrest. The security video from the gym went viral on TikTok with over 4 million views. In the video it shows a crowd and one man in particular rushing to Reynolds' rescue.
"It was amazing seeing all these amazing people come up and literally save my life and react so quick that I didn't have side effects like brain damage or kidney failure, or something," said Reynolds.
He is beyond thankful.
"To see people praying for me in the background, it changed my whole view on people and all I want to do is help people," said Reynolds.
It took three shocks from an AED, a defibrillator which is used to help those in cardiac arrest and eight minutes of CPR, also known as CPR, to restart his heart.
"Every day I am just blown away and every time I watch the video I find something different and I'm like 'Wow, that's amazing,'" said Reynolds.
The ambulance arrived 12 minutes later, but Reynolds' says if it wasn't for the man who performed CPR on him, he would have died.
After spending three days in the ICU and experiencing some rib damage, Reynolds is healthy and is back to lifting. His mission now is to find and thank the man who saved his life.
"I'd love to meet him and thank him in person because it's a big deal what he did for me and my family and hopefully because of what he did for me we can get more people to learn CPR and more businesses to have AEDs," said Reynolds.