GRAINGER COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – Someone suffers a heart attack very 20 seconds according to the American Heart Association, with half of them killing resulting in death.

A Grainger County man recently became one of those victims, but thanks to the 911 dispatcher, paramedics and a new piece of equipment, he survived to tell Volunteer TV about the ordeal.

It was around 5:00 PM on evening while Mandy Gordon was answering emergency calls at Grainger County 911 dispatch center. She received a panicked call from Tim Jarnigan’s wife saying he had gone into cardiac arrest.

"She called in screaming her husband needed an ambulance and he wasn't breathing," Gordon remembered.

Mandy dispatched paramedics to the scene and quickly gave CPR instructions to the victim’s wife.

"She brought him back to life with my instructions," Gordon said.

EMS arrived shortly after and with their new mobile 12-lead heart monitor. A 12-lead heart monitor, otherwise known as an electrocardiogram, allows medical workers to take 12 different recordings of the heart at the same time. The number of recordings provides highly accurate information about the state of the victim’s heart rate. With information from the machine, paramedics were able to relay Tim's vital signs to the hospital where he was treated.

"If they didn't have that piece of equipment, I wouldn't be standing here," said Tim Jarnigan.

On Monday, Jarnigan met Gordon and the two paramedics who helped save his life.

"I could never thank them enough,” he said. “If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be standing here."

"We normally don't get to meet them,” Gordon said. “It was great to get to meet him."

Gordon knows how important her job is because before September 11th, 2001 her own father died in Grainger County of a heart attack

"Nobody could help him with his heart attack,” she said. “We didn't have that and nobody was giving instructions. We help people."