AtlantiCare workers save New Jersey man's life while out to dinner in South Jersey

POMONA, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A New Jersey man is crediting two AtlantiCare employees for saving his life when his heart stopped while he was out to dinner.

"I said, 'We can't lose him. Not here today, not on my watch,'" recalled Brandi Gunning, a cardiovascular technician at AtlantiCare Heart and Vascular Institute.

Eighty-three-year-old Frank DeAngelis from Brigantine, New Jersey, was the man Gunning and others quickly attended to.

"There was a reason why we went there, and he was the reason," said Christina Muhobaier, a cardiovascular stenographer in the same department.

Gunning and Muhobaier were out to dinner together at Cordivari's Restaurant last Friday. DeAngelis was at the table next to them.

"I had homemade pasta with shrimp and the diablo sauce, but I didn't get to the dessert," said DeAngelis.

His heart stopped.

"The last thing I remember, I was falling to the side," he said.

Gunning added, "I saw the lean, and then I just ran. I knew something was wrong."

They checked for a pulse, but none was there. Gunning held him while Muhobaier did CPR.

"It was that agonal breath that you get, and it was okay. We have him back," said Gunning.

When that gasp of air came, DeAngelis says he saw his guardian angels.

"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here today," he said.

Cardiologists say if someone had not been there to start CPR immediately, DeAngelis may not be here today.

That's why doctors say it's important more people get CPR certified.

"You never know where you're going to be when you need to jump into action, and being trained is one of the most important things," said Muhobaier.

DeAngelis spent the next week recovering at the same AtlantiCare campus where both women work. His recovery has been quick only because of the quick action of his new friends.

"These two guardian angels of mine. They were fabulous," DeAngelis said.