Heart Rate

The airline passenger was in deep trouble - not breathing, no heart rate - when a fellow passenger, Raina Merchant, then a resident in emergency medicine, tried to save his life. "The patient survived the flight, but, sadly, not much longer," said Merchant, who performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the passenger. That was seven years ago. Now Merchant, a University of Pennsylvania physician whose research centers on resuscitation, is developing a mobile-phone app that would, with one push of a button, provide oral instructions for CPR. The app would even say, "Press, press, press," to allow the right rhythm for chest compressions.

Next time, bring a glove As any reader of MLB.com knows by now, a guy named Bo is the sorriest dude in Houston right about now. Bo was at the Astros-Braves game on Monday night with his girlfriend Sarah. A foul ball screamed into their section and headed straight for Bo. Sensibly enough, he ducked. Sarah, perhaps not as wise to the ways of spectating, sat still. And got creamed. I wonder how jolly the ride home was. Silva has heart procedure On a more somber note, Cubs righthander Carlos Silva underwent a cardiac ablation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Monday to correct a problem with his heart rate.

My patient needed to be delivered. She had just developed eclampsia, a potentially fatal disease that afflicts women in the second half of pregnancy. She had suffered a seizure and dangerously high blood pressure, and was at risk for far worse, including a stroke. No one knows why this condition arises, but delivery sure clears it up in a hurry. So we gave medication to start labor, and the nurses placed a fetal heart monitor. Worn like a belt, but higher on the abdomen, the ultrasound monitor would play a crucial role in the hours to come.

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson was taken to the hospital in Montreal with an elevated heart rate following the first period of the Leafs' 3-0 victory over the Canadiens last night. Gustavsson made eight saves before he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. The Swedish rookie had minor heart surgery during training camp after he experienced a racing heartbeat. Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said Gustavsson is expected to be fine. "We're just being ultracautious," Burke said.

LADIES, IF YOU'RE going to date a minor, make sure your ex is cool with it. TMZ.com reports that Billy Bob Thornton's 15-year-old son, Willie Thornton, is being questioned by Los Angeles law enforcement officials as the alleged victim of "unlawful sex. " TMZ.com says that Willie has been dating a 22-year-old woman whose ex-boyfriend apparently became jealous and called the L.A.P.D. today to rat her out as a predator. Willie is reportedly cooperating with the sex-crimes unit.

Suzie McConnell Serio, a former WNBA coach of the year, was hired yesterday as the women's basketball coach at Duquesne after a 7-20 season. She replaces Dan Durkin, who resigned last month and had a 176-217 record in his 14 seasons as coach. The Dukes' last winning record, 16-13, was in 2004. McConnell Serio, who is from Pittsburgh, resigned last year as coach of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, a team she guided to two playoff appearances in three-plus seasons. In 2004, McConnell Serio was honored as the league's top coach.

He looks exactly the same as he has throughout an NBA career in which he's become a cult favorite. But it's what you can't see in Fred Hoiberg that's making all the difference. It is the pacemaker that is inserted in his chest, and keeps his heart beating normally. "At this point, I'm as healthy as I'm going to be," said Hoiberg, who had the pacemaker installed in June during an eight-hour operation at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic. Now, Hoiberg is deciding whether he's healthy enough to try to hook on with an NBA team for the stretch run - and become the first player in league history to play with the device.

The defensive-line rotation that has worked so well for the 5-0 Eagles will likely be down a man tomorrow in Cleveland. Backup defensive end Jerome McDougle was added to the Eagles' injury list and designated as doubtful after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat after Thursday's practice at the NovaCare Complex. McDougle, a backup to Jevon Kearse at left defensive end, did not practice yesterday. "Jerome came to me after practice [Thursday] and had upper-respiratory-infection-type symptoms," Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder said.

A wild finish to the Catholic League championship softball game yesterday left Kennedy-Kenrick High's Nicole D'Annunzio nearly breathless. "I almost had a heart attack," D'Annunzio, the winning pitcher, said after the Wolverines survived two wacky innings to beat defending champion Conwell-Egan, 1-0, at La Salle University. It was easy to see why D'Annunzio's heart rate was up. The righthander needed a triple play to escape a sixth-inning jam. She then loaded the bases with one out - two batters were hit by pitches - and eased out of trouble in the seventh.

Ted Williams, slowed by a series of strokes and congestive heart failure in recent years, was back in the hospital yesterday with a high temperature and low blood pressure. The 83-year-old baseball Hall of Famer was taken from his home by ambulance to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He had open-heart surgery last January. Williams was given fluids and antibiotics in the intensive-care unit, and his vital signs improved, the Boston Globe reported last night.