McBride's Collapse Not Related To Heart
Published: Oct 1, 2003
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McBride, 58, was recovering at Tampa General Hospital Tuesday evening after undergoing a series of tests including an electrocardiogram and enzyme tests, said Bob Bolt, managing partner of Barnett, Bolt, Kirkwood, Long & McBride, the law firm where McBride recently started working.
Those tests showed ``no damage to the heart, no evidence of a heart attack or stroke,`` Bolt said.
About 6 p.m., McBride was coming out from under sedation and was about to speak to family members, Bolt said.
McBride had finished working on a treadmill shortly before 3:30 p.m. when he lost consciousness, Bolt and athletic club officials said.
``He was bent over, laying on the mat,`` said Donna Everhart, general manager of the club at 900 Harbor Island Blvd.
Club sales representative Kelli Pioch noticed McBride was in trouble and called 911, Everhart said. An ambulance was dispatched at 3:32 p.m., records show.
Pioch, operations director Tom Vealey and member services director Shawn Cleary used an automatic external defibrillator, or AED, and an oxygen machine on McBride, Everhart said. They also performed CPR.
``We called his wife immediately,`` Everhart said.
Typically during a heart attack, the heart stops pumping blood and quivers, a phenomenon called ventricular fibrillation, said Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade.
An electric shock delivered during the first four minutes of fibrillation is a patient's best chance of survival, Wade said.
Using paddles that adhere to the chest, an AED is designed to evaluate an unconscious adult and deliver a shock if it recognizes ventricular fibrillation, Wade said.
Pictograms illustrate how to use the machine. ``Any layperson can do this,`` he said. ``It's meant to be a simple as a fire extinguisher to use.``
Although he could not speak specifically about McBride's condition, Wade commended the health club employees for their quick reaction. ``He's a very lucky gentleman if he has no heart damage,`` he said.
Everhart said the club has had the equipment for quite some time but it has not been used lately.
``The staff really did a fabulous job in saving someone's life,`` she said. ``I'm very proud.``
McBride lost a bid for governor in 2002 against Jeb Bush. A longtime civic and political activist and philanthropist, he is a former managing partner of Holland & Knight, one of the nation's largest law firms.
He has two children with wife Alex Sink, a retired banker and former Florida head of NationsBank, now Bank of America.
According to other friends, McBride underwent various medical tests shortly after his losing race for governor in 2002, but those tests showed no significant health problems except fatigue.
Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800. Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.
