Pregnant teacher suffers heart attack, two students saved her life

"It's heartwarming to know that I am in a safe place on the part of the students, that they know what to do and have saved my life," said Chen Danziger.

The students who saved pregnant teacher's Chen Danziger's life visit her at Hadassah hospital (photo credit: AMIT SHABI/POOL)
The students who saved pregnant teacher's Chen Danziger's life visit her at Hadassah hospital
(photo credit: AMIT SHABI/POOL)
29-year-old Chen Danziger, a teacher at Branco Weiss school in Beit Shemesh, mother of two and 20 weeks pregnant, suffered from arrhythmia when her heart stopped beating when she arrived at the school.
Danziger collapsed, and two nearby 17-year-old students performed CPR on her and notified MDA, who arrived at the scene. After four electric shocks she regained consciousness and was transferred to the Hadassah-University Medical Center.
"I remember not feeling well when getting out of the car," Danziger recounted from the hospital bed. "I sat down on a large rock and then woke up at the hospital. They told me two students saved me life. It's heartwarming to know that I am in a safe place because of the students, that they know what to do and have saved my life."
Dr. Gabi Elbaz-Greener, senior cardiologist at Hadassah, claimed that "This is certainly an extraordinary cardiovascular event, which manifested itself as a life-threatening arrhythmia. Without the life-saving treatment of both students and MDA staff – she would not be here with us.
"She was actually dead. She is now in stable condition and smiling. She is still being monitored and will likely undergo a defibrillator transplant to protect her from these types of arrhythmia," Dr. Elbaz-Greener added.
One of the students who was interviewed on Army Radio on Wednesday claimed he learned how to perform CPR at a first aid course at school. These courses are given to all high school students in Israel – and in this case, it saved Danziger's life.