He Died 'Because His Chest Is Too Hairy' — But He Could Likely Have Been Saved

Caroline Jordan watched her husband die.

The couple was flying on a Southwest Airlines flight between Los Angeles and Albuquerque, KOAT-TV reported, when Jack Jordan suffered a massive heart attack, and while fellow passengers performed CPR on the dying man, his wife said a nearby defibrillator went unused — because of Jack's hairy chest.

"The flight attendant that had been right up there with us said [they couldn't use the defibrillator] because his chest is too hairy," Caroline told KOAT.

Caroline and Jack Jordan. (Image via KOAT-TV)

But as a medical expert confirmed to KOAT, defibrillators — life-saving devices that deliver an electric shock to jump-start the heart — come packaged with scissors and razors, meaning chest hair should not be a barrier to their use.

In the Jordans' case, Jack's chest was eventually shaved, but by then it was too late.

"I don't want somebody else to have to go through that," Caroline said. "I don't expect the airlines or the flight attendants to be nurses or doctors... but in that kind of a circumstance... one of the first things they should be doing is getting that AED [defibrillator] hooked up."

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