Corona doctor credits physician assistant for life-saving care during mid-air emergency

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Corona doctor returning from her honeymoon suffered a life-threatening medical emergency mid-flight and credits a fellow passenger with saving her life.

Dr. Jacquelyn Lacera and her husband were on their way home from Hawaii when she suddenly began feeling nauseous about an hour into the flight.

"And that is when it all started because my chest pain started immediately after that," Lacera, a family medicine physician with Riverside Medical Clinic said.

Recognizing the symptoms of a possible heart attack, Lacera alerted a flight attendant, who quickly called for medical assistance.

Emily Haley, a physician assistant at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore, was onboard with her family and responded to the call.

"It was this panicked call asking for any medical professional, and you could definitely hear the audible distress from the flight attendant," Haley said.

Upon reaching Lacera, Haley immediately recognized the severity of the situation.

"The hope is that you get called for something that is not too serious, but in her case, I knew it was potentially life-threatening," Haley said. "She looked terrible from a clinical standpoint. She was clutching her chest, she was sweaty, she had an oxygen mask on."

Haley attempted to check Lacera's vitals with the available medical tools onboard.

"I tried to get a pulse-ox monitor - it didn't work. We tried listening with a stethoscope, but it was a disposable, non-functional one. We couldn't hear anything," Haley said.

Lacera's Apple Watch showed an elevated heart rate, but they needed a more accurate assessment of her heart rhythm. That's when they located an onboard automated external defibrillator (AED), but the readout wasn't good news.

"I remember looking up at her, and she's looking at me, and she's like, 'Okay, it's saying I should shock.' And I said, 'Do it,'" Lacera recalled.

Haley followed the AED's instructions, delivering a shock .

"She pressed the button, and it was-without sedation-I was basically electrocuted," Lacera said.

She described the pain as excruciating but the shock helped to restore her heart's normal rhythm and bring her racing pulse down.

"She sat up and pretty instantly said, 'My chest pain is gone,'" Haley said.

Upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport, Lacera was taken to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a serious but treatable heart condition, rather than a heart attack.

Now recovering at home, Lacera and Haley are calling for improved medical resources on flights.

"I think certainly that we as a nation could probably do better as far as what we provide in our airplanes for providers," Haley said.

Lacera says she isn't sure she would have survived if Haley had not been on the same flight.

"I understand the flight attendants aren't nurses they can't give medications they have limited training and I'm sure it is appropriate for them but it is not enough," said Lacera.

In response to Eyewitness News, American Airlines stated that its crews are trained for medical emergencies and emphasized that their onboard emergency medical kit "includes all FAA-required equipment, materials, and medications-and exceeds those requirements."

Lacera and Haley have stayed in touch and hope to meet again this time under different circumstances.

"She was amazing, she was amazing. It was a total angel sent from God," Lacera said.