MLB TV Worker Dies: Reuben Porras Suffers Heart Attack Before Wednesday’s Braves Nationals Matchup
Fast-acting athletic trainers were not enough to save a Major League Baseball cameraman who died Wednesday afternoon before a meeting between the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves.
John Dever, a Nationals representative, announced that 61-year-old Reuben Porras from Newnan, GA collapsed at Turner Field due to an apparent heart attack. He later died in the Intensive Care Unit of a nearby hospital, the Associated Press reported.
Eyewitness accounts state Porras was in the media workroom beneath the stadium setting up equipment when he suddenly hit the ground. Nationals head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz and assistant trainer John Hsu were able to revive him using an AED machine and CPR.
Porras arrived to the ICU unresponsive and without breath. Doctor's attempts to revive the Atlanta native were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead by doctors at the Atlanta hospital.
According the American Red Cross, cardiac arrest remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Out of the 350,000 people who are effected by a heart attack each year, 50,000 can be saved using an AED.
Most heart attacks are caused by an abnormal heart rhythm in the organ's lower ventricles known as a ventricular fibrillation. First the AED locates where defibrillation is needed then a shock restarts the heart looking for a steady rhythm.
Every second the heart is stopped during cardiac arrest, the chance of survival is reduced by around 10 percent. The average 911 call takes eight to 12 minutes for emergency services to arrive.