Hero paramedic saves heart attack patient's life while having heart attack HIMSELF on way to hospital



Detroit paramedic Joseph Hardman, 40, was giving CPR to a patient last Friday morning when he began having severe chest pains

His partner drove them both to the Detroit Medical Center and the paramedics dropped off the patient before Hardman himself went to the ER

The two men had stents put in to clear the blockages in their arteries and recovered three beds away from each other

A veteran Detroit paramedic is being hailed a hero after he saved the life of a man having a heart attack while he was having one himself.

Joseph Hardman was giving CPR to a patient, who hasn't been named, last Friday morning when, on the way to the hospital, he began having severe chest pains.



His partner drove them both to the Detroit Medical Center's 24/7 Cardiac Care unit and the paramedics dropped off the patient before Hardman himself went to the ER.

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Hero: Joseph Hardman, pictured, was giving CPR to a patient, who hasn't been named, last Friday morning when, on the way to the hospital, he began having severe chest pains

His union president Joe Barney said on Saturday: 'He dropped his patient off alive while he was having a heart attack, then went to the ER, where they treated him immediately. He survived, and he's in fact laying three beds over from the guy he brought into the hospital.'

Both men had identical stents put in to clear the blockage in their arteries.



Doctor Michael Brown told WXYZ that Hardman's blockage was in what they call the 'widow maker' artery. He said the odds of an EMS technician having a heart attack while treating a heart attack patient were 'one in a million.'



'I would have to say one in a million is about appropriate,' Brown said. 'I haven't ever seen it and I haven't heard of it.'





ER: His partner drove them both to the Detroit Medical Center's 24/7 Cardiac Care unit, pictured, and the paramedics dropped off the patient before Hardman himself went to the ER

Hardman, who has now been released from hospital, said he did not know how serious a condition he was in until his chest pains grew stronger and he began sweating.



He described the pain as 'a sudden explosion-type feeling in my chest.' The 40-year-old is well aware how lucky he was to already be on his way to hospital when he began having the heart attack.



'If I hadn't been in the position I was in, I would have been deceased,' he told 7 Action News on Monday.



Hardman should be able to return to work after a couple of months of therapy.



However, Barney said the health scare suggests Hardman should slow down a bit.



'He's scared. The stress of the job is getting to be too much,' he said.



The other patient is also recovering and no doubt appreciates Hardman's dedication to the job.