According to research by the New England Journal of Medicine, a casino is one of the best places to have a heart attack. In fact, your odds of survival are greater at the casino than they are at a hospital. This may sound crazy at first, but it makes sense when you think about it.
First of all, hospitals aren’t terrible places to have heart attacks. You’re surrounded by medical professionals who know what to do in these situations. That’s never a bad thing when the old ticker stops ticking.
However, it is even better to be at a casino because you are surrounded by two important things: people and automatic external defibrillators. If you go into cardiac arrest at a casino, people are going to notice right away. Then, trained casino employees will rush to your aid and give you defibrillation within the critical 2 minute mark – dramatically increasing your odds of survival.
Hospitals have the equipment and the trained personnel, but they don’t have the big crowds. If you go into cardiac arrest in your hospital bed in the middle of the night, it might be a while before someone notices. Again, hospitals aren’t the worst places to have heart attacks; they’re just not as good as casinos.
Major casinos such as those found on the Strip in Las Vegas are full of defibrillators. Apparently, heart attacks are more frequent at casinos than at most other public locations. I find this completely shocking considering the highs and lows of gambling, abundance of greasy food, alcohol, drugs and all the other excesses that define Las Vegas.
Now, I’m not saying you should rush straight to the nearest casino if you get a serious case of chest pain. I’m just saying that if you happen to be at a casino when it hits, well, it could be worse. Or if you want to avoid all the trouble in the first place, you could always get a pair of running shoes and hit the pavement.
The inspiration for this blog post came from this news piece.