Patron saved at North Huntingdon fitness center awaits heart surgery

Jan. 13--A Harrison City man who was revived by patrons after collapsing at a North Huntingdon fitness center is recovering at a Monroeville hospital but awaits open heart surgery, his daughter said Tuesday.

Thomas Harrity, 59, who collapsed at about 6 p.m. Sunday while taking a break from exercising at Planet Fitness in North Huntingdon, is "doing really good" after undergoing a procedure to open a clogged artery, said his daughter, Jenni Harrity, 28, of Greensburg.

Her dad is expected to be released from Allegheny Health Network Forbes Hospital in a day or two, but doctors said he will need to have heart surgery, Jenni Harrity said.

"We're extremely fortunate, extremely blessed," Jenni Harrity said. He was lucky that others were nearby when he had the medical emergency, she said.

Harrity said her father collapsed while taking a break from using an elliptical exercise machine. She said he doesn't remember anything -- falling down, the frantic efforts to revive him, the ambulance ride to the hospital -- until he was undergoing treatment at the hospital in Monroeville.

"He was really surprised" at what had happened, Jenni Harrity said.

Thomas Harrity joined the fitness center at the urging of another daughter and had been eating healthier. Although he didn't have the severe chest pain that's a typical warning sign of heart trouble, "he had been feeling pressure (in the chest) for a couple of weeks," Jenni Harrity said.

The family wants to thank the five people who joined in the effort to save her father, but knows the identities of only two, Jenni Harrity said.

She believes one of those who came to her father's aid was a Planet Fitness employee.

Planet Fitness is "incredibly thankful for our employees and members who were able to assist during the recent incident at the North Huntingdon Planet Fitness," said Rebecca Brown, a spokeswoman at the company's Newington, N.H., headquarters,

"We wish Mr. Harrity well in his recovery and extend our gratitude to all those who assisted him," Brown said in a statement.

One of those who came to his rescue, Chris Miller of Greensburg, used an automated external defibrillator to administer an electric jolt to Harrity's heart to revive him. Miller said he had just learned how to use an AED last fall during a first aid class at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, where he is a student.

One jolt of electricity from the AED revived Harrity, and another gym patron performed additional cardiopulmonary resuscitation compressions of the chest because his pulse was weak, Miller said.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.

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