Heart attacks, accidents, explosions: There is a lot of death in films and series – but also a lot of saving. Dirk Dautzenberg is an emergency paramedic and makes sure that everything is right during filming as soon as blue lights come into play. A visit to the set of “Notruf Hafenkante”.
A healthy heart beats between 60 and 80 times per minute at rest. Systole, diastole, always alternating. The wave that the heart muscle creates when it pumps blood through the veins can be felt as a pulse, especially where large arteries run: in the neck, on the wrist below the thumb. No pulse means: standstill.
“Juri?” calls policewoman Isa, played by Lilli Hollunder. Her voice sounds excited. The man lying on the floor in front of her doesn’t move. “Is he just full, or is he not feeling well?” she asks her colleague Kris (Marc Barthel), who is standing next to her. The police feel for the man’s pulse and check whether he is breathing. No sign of life. Then Isa starts with chest compressions. She places her hands on Juri’s chest, stretches her arms – and squeezes. Over and over again.