Plymouth Twp. detective saved by fellow officer after suffering catastrophic heart failure

PLYMOUTH TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- Very often, officers in Plymouth Township are out saving lives of people in the community.

But recently, they were needed at the department when one of their own suffered sudden catastrophic heart failure.

"For whatever reason, my heart was short-circuiting," said Plymouth Township Detective Andy Moretti.

The 45-year-old says he is lucky to be alive. Back on May 6, as he was coming to work, he suffered a series of sudden death events when his heart's electrical system suddenly and unexpectedly began to go out of whack. He collapsed in the parking lot. Fortunately, his fellow officers found him and immediately began CPR and shocked him with a defibrillator.

"I remember feeling the electricity in my chest and waking up to it, coming out of it. Then I started seeing faces around me," said Moretti.

Several times the officers had to bring him back from death.

"It feels different when you see a colleague, a friend down, it just amplifies the situation for yourself. The anxiety starts to rise things of that nature," said Officer Mark Ransom.

Moretti said, "They didn't give up, they were determined to bring me back right there."

Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and rushed him first to Einstein Medical Center and ultimately to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. There, doctors used ablating to burn off a little bit of the area in his heart where the electrical misfiring was happening.

"There's no 100% guarantee you're cured of it so they put a pacemaker and defibrillator in as a backup," said Moretti.

He says if all goes well, he'll be back on the job in six months. He says if not for the medical staff, paramedics and his fellow officers, he would not be alive today.

"I'm very proud of the people I work with in Plymouth Township, the police department, my fellow police officers that I work with," he said.

"We love him, wish for a speedy recovery and he'll be back," said Officer Ransom.

Moretti's wife says in saving her husband's life, the officers gave her the best Mother's Day gift ever.

"There are great people out there, you just have to find them. There's miracles every single day, you just gotta look for them," said Elaina Moretti.

The couple was planning to renew their vows after 25 years of marriage in the Dominican Republic this September. But because of this, they will do it locally. They are just glad to be able to do it.