A 47-year-old Chicago man with a possible history of mental issues died after apparently trying to remove a pacemaker from his chest, officials said.

Channing Askew was conscious when taken on ambulance from a group home in the 4700 block of North Winthrop, officials said.

As paramedics tried to resuscitate him in the ambulance, they noticed puncture wounds in his upper chest, made apparently as he tried to remove his pacemaker, officials said.

Askew could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital. He might have a history of mental illness, an official said.

Pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device that senses when your heart beats irregularly or too slowly. It sends a signal to the heart that makes the heart beat at the correct pace.

Medicine