Des Plaines girl, 8, saves grandfather during heart attack

DES PLAINES (WLS) -- In northwest suburban Des Plaines, a little girl's quick thinking saved her favorite playmate, her grandfather. It also put a spotlight on the epidemic of heart disease in the South Asian community.

Krishna Vyas, 8, delights in her grandfather's company less than a month after recognizing something was wrong with him.

"He just came out of the shower and he woke me up and he said, 'my chest is hurting, can you please call your mom,' and I called my mom, but I couldn't reach her because she was busy, so I immediately called my dad," said Krishna.

"And I couldn't breathe property, yeah, I was shivering and she helped me," said Virji Rathod, 84.

But channeling the steadiness of the blue-skinned god for whom she is named, Krishna knew what to do.

"I don't know, it just made me feel calm," said Krishna.

Dr Shoeb Sitafalwalla outfitted Rathod with an emergency life vest that will shock his heart should he get sick again in these first few months of recovery. But the grandfather was the third South Asian heart attack victim within 36 hours at Advocate Lutheran, underscoring the epidemic of heart disease in that community.

"South Asians are at an up to four to five times greater risk for heart disease. Unfortunately, they don't realize the statistics that are behind their ethnicity," said Dr. Sitafalwalla.

The girl who lost her grandmother to stroke wants to become a neurosurgeon or a cardiologist. But more importantly, she wants to get back to being a kid - and playing with her best friend.

"He's kind of like my life, too, and it kind of means to me that I saved my own life," said Krishna.