20s Male Complains of "Chest Tightness" During Reserve Forces Training, Ultimately Dies

Collapsed due to acute myocardial infarction during training
Bereaved family criticizes military emergency medical response... "Evacuation was delayed"
Military unit states "No evidence to suspect or diagnose myocardial infarction"

A man in his 20s who suffered acute myocardial infarction during reserve forces training ultimately passed away. His family expressed frustration over the military’s inadequate emergency medical system, lamenting the delayed hospital transfer.

According to related agencies and Hankyoreh on the 2nd, Mr. A (26), who was receiving treatment at a university hospital in Changwon, Gyeongnam, died the day before. It had been 48 days since he lost consciousness and collapsed after complaining of dizziness and chest tightness during reserve forces training at a training center in Gimhae on May 15.

Appearance of the reserve forces training ground.

At the time of the incident, Mr. A collapsed again while being assisted by the reserve forces squad leader to move to the medical office, hitting his head on the floor and sustaining a roughly 5cm laceration on his forehead. The military called an emergency medical technician at the shooting range and transferred Mr. A to a nearby hospital for initial treatment.

Diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, Mr. A underwent a stent procedure to widen the narrowed blood vessels. The next day, he was transferred to a university hospital in Changwon, where he received sedation and ventilator treatment in an unconscious state but ultimately passed away.

The hospital stated, “He died from septic shock caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome due to acute myocardial infarction.” The funeral was held at the Gimhae Civic Funeral Hall.

The family pointed out the reserve forces unit’s inadequate response, based on what they heard at the hospital where Mr. A received initial treatment: “More than half of the heart muscle was already dead when he arrived at the hospital. It is regrettable that the hospital arrival was too late.”

According to Hankyoreh, about two hours before being transferred to the hospital, Mr. A showed signs suspicious of myocardial infarction, such as severe chest pain, to military unit officers. However, the military unit reportedly only told him to rest briefly and took no further action.

Mr. A’s parents claimed, “During the 48 days our son was receiving treatment at the hospital, the military unit never visited even once. They did not inform us of our son’s death. We plan to observe how they handle this.”

However, the military unit explained, “We reported to the division that a patient who fell and injured his forehead was transferred to a civilian hospital. There was no basis to suspect or diagnose heart disease such as myocardial infarction.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.