When someone goes into cardiac arrest, a series of events must occur – and go well – for that person to survive.

Recently, for an individual playing on a pickleball court in Wisconsin, this "chain of survival" (a term used by the American Heart Association) kept them alive to see their 75th birthday.

Life long athlete dies on the pickleball court

The person saved was Dave Rowe, who regularly bikes a thousand miles a year and takes strenuous wilderness hikes with his wife, Sue.

On July 3rd, Dave collapsed during a game of pickleball.

Fortunately, the other players sprang into action, and a woman named Julie Hasenberg – who is an owner of a fitness center and had emergency medical training – took the lead. She commanded someone to grab the AED (Automated External Defibrillator) as she tore open Dave's shirt and began performing CPR.

"He was gone," Hasenberg recalled.

After several minutes of chest compressions, the device shocked Dave's heart back into rhythm. "It was a miracle. It truly was," Hasenberg recalled.

Dave's wife, a retired physician, emphasized the importance of timely intervention. "If this had to happen, it could not have gone better," she said, highlighting the crucial role of immediate CPR and AED use.

For at least a few minutes, according to the cardiologist, Dave was dead.

Pickleball Becoming a Great Therapy Option For Parkinson’s Patients

As pickleballers, we know there are many benefits to playing pickleball, from improved cardiovascular health to increased social interactions. Sign up today for the most informative newsletter in pickleball from The Dink! Well, now there’s another added benefit to playing pickleball, and it’s huge. Pickleball is helping those with Parkinson’s

The Dink PickleballJason Flamm

If it weren't for the immediate action of the pickleball players around him, he likely would've passed away.

Tests revealed Dave's previous heart treatments – a stent and new heart valve he received last year – were still effective, but he was diagnosed with an arrhythmia and fitted with a pacemaker/defibrillator.

Of course, Dave's real question for his physician was when he might resume biking and playing pickleball again.

Another recent story of a life saved

A similar scene played out a little over a year ago in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, when Joe Keller suffered cardiac arrest immediately following a game of pickleball.

He reportedly mentioned that he felt a bit tired and dizzy but then woke up to someone performing life-saving CPR on him.

The person looking down on him as he administered chest compressions was Ed Coffey, a fellow pickleball player and doctor.

Both stories feature something terrible happening in the right place at the right time, but so is having people around them willing to take action and use the tools available to them to save another person's life.

We hear all the time about how great the pickleball community is, and stories like these remind us just how lucky we are to be part of it.