Oh my word, brings it all into sharp focus - in the article the man says he'd had some pain earlier that day but as it went away quickly, he didn't think about it again...a few hours later he collapsed with cardiac arrest during a karate sparring session being filmed.
Warning - this is a hard watch (no gore but truly terrifying content):
Thank you for posting. I can't watch it but having seen my husband go into cardiac arrest I can't stress enough the importance of learning CPR & defibrillator training. Only 5% of out of hospital cardiac arrests pull through, thanks to a neighbour my husband was one of the lucky ones.
I completely understand not being able to watch it, it is disturbing and would be more so to someone who has had a CA or has a loved one who had one. Even though I knew (from reading the article before watching the film) the man survived and went onto a complete recovery with no brain damage from being O2 deprived for several minutes (thanks to the immediate application of CPR), it was still extremely difficult to watch.
In the video (runs about 5 minutes) and in the article the man says the only reason he is still around is owing to his sparring partner have CPR training. I made my husband watch it with me a few minutes ago and he says he will now take the training.
Seeing is believing for some, and a good reminder for others of why it's important not to ignore/brush off symptoms, and to know CPR. I did make myself watch it twice and then a third time with my husband, and honestly it was as shocking the third time as it was the first.
Thanks for posting. I've seen people go into cardiac arrest twice over the years, never actually thought I'd suffer a cardiac arrest myself, but then again none of us want to think of that possibility do we?
That fella is a lucky man that there were people around who knew what to do!
It is a tough watch.
My bother in law had an out of hospital Cardiac arrest which he survived several years ago.
All my children know how to perform CPR.
My elder son has successfully resuscitated a child and adult.
CPR will now be taught to every Secondary school child from next year
Lezzers the figures are a little better about 9% survival of out of hospital Cardiac arrest.
The best chance of survival is a bystander witnessing the arrest , calling for help and starting CPR. Very courageous to do without support.
I was glad to see one of the men on his mobile relaying information back and forth with the 999 dispatcher, especially when the victim did begin breathing - but it was 'agonal' and the man doing CPR was advised to continue on with it.
I think what might have been most shocking to me was the paramedics 'shocking' the man then going back to CPR. We always expect 'the paddles' to bring a person back immediately but obviously the man needed more than just the paddles.
Well done your lad, it does indeed take terrific courage to get CPR started and here's your son having done it twice!
I think the cinema portray someone with cardiac arrest being brought back with one application of the paddles. I was in hospital, unconscious, and in the process of being intubated prior to having angioplasty when I went into CA - I was told I was gone for 3 minutes before they were able to restart my heart, I was shocked a number of times
The modern defibrillators are really easy to use, they tell you where to put the pads, anaylise the heart rhythm tell you when to stop CPR , then tell everyone to stand back and then the shock is given. Oxygen mask out of the way!
All given in ' Stephen Hawkins' type voice.
The machine then tells you to start CPR again after another analysis of the heart's rhythm. You just keep going. It can take several rounds of CPR and shocks to get the person back in the room with you.
It depends on the reason why the person had a Cardiac arrest in the first place, their age and any other underlying health conditions.
It is really tiring to do effectively for any prolonged period.
Think I will leave it to later. My father died in front of me so not something I want to view at the moment. Also drained after last couple of weeks.
I don't blame you Michael.
The link I sent is a rescue dog performing Chest compressions
Are you feeling any improvement, Michael? I hate to sound like a nagging sister but really, I hope you've been in contact with your doctor.
Milkfairy's rescue dog is a sweet watch, it made me smile. What he made up for in aim (more like tummy compressions than chest) he more than made up for in enthusiasm, and (dare I use this word?) adorable when he stops to check breathing.
Slightly better. This seems a cold that drags on for a bit. I can always check with the DSN when I have a review midweek.
Slightly better = some improvement, good to hear!
Wow thanks for sharing that. My partner is a cardiac arrest survivor. I was able to do CPR until the ambulance arrived. So important that we all get CPR training.
Thank you for post . I have only seen this on TV I was amazed at how fast it happened so glad he recovered. I have made my husband watch it. I think it's great that secondary schools will be teaching CPR . Hopefully this will save many more lives in the future .
A very enlightening film. The surprise was the spontaneity of the effect. Luckily my HA was a minor one and did not appreciate the seriousness of how I felt. However the lasting issue of this film is the urgent need for those close to the sufferer to have CPR training. Since my Armed Forces days and ongoing First Aid training, I would be able to administer it but it gets so difficult if there is no one about to assist or call for help, as in a hill climb, horse ride, lone gardener etc etc and in the hard light of day, the fact so many die that could have been saved by a relative, is so so very sad.
This quite naturally brings me to a question that has been causing me some concern for some time and relates to the people that come onto this site for advice and guidance. One such post was just a few days ago where the poster described their symptoms and asked for advice. The symptoms were dramatic and very worrying and appropriate advice was given - by many who were on line at the time. Every time someone gave the obvious advice the poster made a reply to them. All of this appeared to be over a 40 minute period and when the last person posted and a reply returned, the subject was closed.
Then the waiting period - why - what - where - when - who - and did they take the advice? Or or or...............the resulting END is so unacceptable and frustrating, the not knowing.
Are there really people that post on a forum such as this that hope or expect to get a reply by return? Should there be an advisor on here about URGENT help and advice on what to do - IE ring 111 or 999 first? This is not the first time I have seen such posts and wonder how people can be so naive about their urgent health and have even wondered if it could even be a hoax, feeding off the drama and sympathy? What if any responses should be administered by the admin team with key word alarm bells and are the people here totally anonymous with no way of tracing back?
I know it is not a perfect world but are "we" doing the best with what we have to handle this information appropriately and with due diligence and could "we" do better and if so how?
Great points. The trouble is to implement some if not all of your suggestions would mean the need for a team of dedicated professionally trained medics and moderators able to give 24/7/365 coverage on a no-fail - no excuses rota. There are a number of reasons this would be out of the realm of possibility for a charity like BHF hoping to use nearly all the monies raised by donations and other fund-raising for research rather than operating a moderator curated forum.
££££££: Most medical professionals have spent years and their own money for their training, many still owe loan repayment - they can't volunteer without pay to take responsibility for advising people who think it best to ask questions on what amounts to a public message board forum.
Responsibility - in addition to the cost of paying professionals, there is the cost of liability insurance - very-very-very costly for medical professional liability.
Then there is the cost of verifying any professional qualifications and doing an enhanced CRB on candidates for the position.
As far as vetting for attention-seekers/frauds, that too means more money the administrators would have to find - training moderators to be aware of the ways manipulators can use takes months and costs ££££ per trainee.
Server space and bandwidth - 'ain't cheap' if real-time applications are to be reliable so mods and medics can track an IP in case a person posting a question needs immediate assistance.
All fair points and I thank you for the measured reply. What about the broad advice on the first page people see regarding urgent health information - would that therefore negate any concerns of neglect or inappropriate or indeed No Advice?
I think that broad advice would be insufficient if moderators and professionally trained medics were brought on board, again, for liability reasons. For example, a claim might (read likely would) be brought saying the presence of professionals render any broad disclaimer null owing to 'duty of care' precedents. We live in strange times, people are happy to bring a claim if they think there is the slightest chance of winning - or at least ruining the organisation the claim is being brought against.
I'm not trained in legal matters but I did all of my late husband's (a consultant surgeon) US insurance paperwork for over 20 years; when we thought he was going to recover from his illness and were planning to return home to the UK, I did all the legwork for his UK liability insurance - the laws seem, to the best of my recollection, to be rather close in tone and letter.
Sadly he didn't survive the illness.
Thank you again for the reply and to hear how cruel life can be after all the hard work and effort to return to the UK. Will you now stay in the US? Is it your country of origin?
Because of your comments, which I agree with, are you in any way connected with the day to day running of the BHF or this web page?
No connection to BHF or HealthUnlocked other than being a very grateful user of the sites.
I am British but was born in the USA to expat parents who kept very close ties to Britain - my late husband was a Briton 'bred and born', British trained but took a hospital job in the US shortly after we married in the mid-1970s.
After he died I stayed in the US until the family decided I'd be 'the point man' for a family return to the UK. I retired home to the UK (NE Scotland) in 2010, shocked myself finding new love and marrying again in 2011 with the grown children's full blessing (my son 'gave me away'
), and am here in the UK to stay.
My children and their families are still in the USA but are hoping to move countries - my son's company offered him a transfer (they're waiting for full Brexit so it could be years). My daughter and her husband are likewise awaiting full Brexit before making the move with their three children.
And yes, Life can indeed seem cruel. My 'new' husband is a wonder and I love him very much - but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I miss my late husband and wish Life hadn't been quite so cruel as to cut his life so short.
The North East is very attractive especially Edinburgh which is my home town. No matter how "people" view these things, love and friendship and companionship is a fundamental need for us humans which contributes so greatly to health and well being so good luck to you and be happy. The bond, especially with the children - no mater how old, is a mighty strong tie and don't think you would be human if you did not have those remaining strings. Even if you do believe in......??.......it would be inconceivable to think that "he" would not want you to be happy and the peace and well being your children must see in you will make them happy too. I watched my mother and currently my mother in law struggle with being alone, but of course they are both from another age.
May I thank you for sharing so much with me, I am moved by your willingness to do that and I appreciate it very much. Lets hope that BREXIT does not go on forever and your family join you without further loss of quality time. Will you all be meeting up for Christmas this year?
We did have time before he died and one thing he was adamant about was his hope I would find someone new providing the children agreed. At the time our youngest (a boy) was barely 16 and the last thing on my mind was 'finding someone', it was several years before I met 'the new guy' (my children have a way with nicknames) and a few more before I realised he was 'the new guy' at all.
We're 'up the glens' between Dundee and Aberdeen and love it ('the new guy' is from Elgin but worked in Angus 30 years) - but we do get down to Edinburgh (and Glasgow) a few times a year. We were hoping for Christmas together here in Scotland but my daughter and s-i-l own a restaurant, my son works for a 'retail giant' and Christmas is 'the busy time' for both. Hoping now for spring.
Yes I watched it and the training video.You never know when you might need it.
This is tough to watch, but so glad he is ok and made it through, and was around people that were so calm and knew what to do!
This is precisely why I preach to anyone especially w/family history and at risk of SCA to PLEASE consider getting tested & a defibrillator implanted. I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, risk of SCA, and family history of both and I had to practically beg for an ICD for 5 years before the doctors finally agreed. All is takes is 3-5 minutes, and if not revived during that time, chances are it won't happen. The average survival rate is 10.6% and survival with good neurologic function is 8.3%.
It is NOT a condition to be taken lightly, or one that an "alarm" or health tracker watch can treat. I recently had that discussion with someone on here, and unless the alarm is linked to the medic/ambulance service somehow, it is not really helpful except to record your heart rate.
Advice appreciated 
Angiogram worry
Scared and lonely 
Cardiac arrest 49 , fit and healthy , or so l thought !
Low blood pressure 
