A 78-year-old man died this Tuesday night when he went into cardiorespiratory arrest after choking on “a large piece of meat” in a bar in the Villanueva del Pardillo municipality, as confirmed by Enrique Claudio, supervisor of Summa 112. of the Community of Madrid.
The man, who, feeling unwell, went down to the toilets, which are located in the basement of the establishment, was helped by several customers of the restaurant, who began to apply Heinlich maneuvers and cardiorespiratory resuscitation until the arrival of the paramedics, who attended. in a very short time because they came from Majadahonda. However, it is unknown how long the man was alone until he was treated, first by bar patrons and then by emergency services.
The Summa 112 team, which went to the scene of the accident, managed to remove the piece of food and tried to revive him for half an hour, but could only confirm death due to respiratory arrest.
Choking in Spain became the leading cause of unnatural death in 2022, according to the INE. A total of 18,330 deaths occurred due to external causes (not disease), with drowning leading, with a total of 4,102 cases, followed by suicides (4,097), accidental falls (3,707) and traffic accidents (1,790).
Recently, another elderly person died in Madrid for the same reason, also in a restaurant, but one of the most notorious choking events recently was that of a child in a daycare center in Valencia with a piece of bread.
When a person chokes on food, their airways become blocked and oxygen does not reach the lungs. Brain damage or death can occur in just four minutes, according to experts.
