Passengers seen at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC during the Lunar New Year Holiday in February 2026. Photo by Read/Thanh Tung
A 77-year-old Italian tourist suffered sudden cardiac arrest while completing check-in procedures at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and was later resuscitated by doctors.
The man, identified as Moretti, recently collapsed and lost his pulse while preparing for his departure flight back to home. Airport medical staff immediately performed chest compressions before transferring him to Tam Anh Hospital within about 20 minutes.
Dr. Duong Pham Van Thanh from the hospital’s Emergency Department said the patient arrived in critical condition, showing generalized cyanosis, rapid breathing and no detectable carotid or femoral pulses.
His blood oxygen saturation was measured at just 45%, far below the normal level of above 95%.
Doctors performed emergency resuscitation and found the patient had developed ventricular tachycardia at nearly 190 beats per minute, a life-threatening heart rhythm that can lead to repeated cardiac arrest.
The medical team carried out emergency cardioversion, administered antiarrhythmic drugs, intubated the patient and placed him on a ventilator while conducting bedside tests and imaging.
After several minutes of intensive resuscitation, his heart rhythm stabilized, blood pressure returned and the cyanosis gradually subsided.
Professor Dr. Vo Thanh Nhan, director of the hospital’s Interventional Cardiology Center, diagnosed the patient with acute myocardial infarction accompanied by severe hemodynamic instability.
According to doctors, Moretti had a history of coronary artery disease and heart failure.
He previously underwent coronary artery bypass surgery and later had coronary stents placed.
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