Fans' quick action helps save heart attack victim at Michigan-Notre Dame game

Leo Staudacher, 69, of Bay City, was cheering for Notre Dame Sept. 10 when he felt sharp pain in his shoulder during the second quarter. The retired investor thought he had heartburn or indigestion. But his heart stopped beating; he sat down and passed out.

Luckily for Staudacher, fans sitting near him knew CPR. A dentist from Trenton began chest compressions. Others called over medical personnel stationed at the game, who took Staudacher to the University of Michigan Health System for treatment.

"My family watched while they shocked me with the paddles," Staudacher said in a UMHS news release. "But it was the fans and their prompt CPR that saved my life."

Staudacher in town with his sons ages, 45, 48 and 50 to watch the game attended by 114,000 fans.

After receiving treatment for a heart attack, he was able to watch the last two touchdowns from the intensive care unit.

U-M won the game 35 to 31 in the final 2 seconds. After the harrowing health experience — and game — he said he might reconsider cheering against the Wolverines.

"It was great to witness an amazing match-up between two old rivals — at least for the first quarter and half anyway," he said.

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