Stuart Ritchie is a sixty-eight-year-old resident of Pinar de Campoverde in the South of the Alicante region of Spain. He resides with his wife Maureen and has had no health issues for decades. He certainly had no warning of what was to happen to him on the afternoon of Thursday the 24th of May 2018.

Stuart is a key member of the Portobello Bar Walking Football Club. On Saturday the 19th of May he played for his team as he has many times before, helping them reach a tournament final for the very first time.

This picture of the football team was taken just 5 days before Stuart fell victim to sudden cardiac arrest. Stuart is back row, extreme left. Kevin Leonard who performed mouth to mouth is back center wearing yellow. Steven Howarth is front row, extreme left. 

The football team had made a decision last year to use some of their funds to purchase a defibrillator as they realised the inherent dangers of elderly men pushing their stamina to the limit whilst playing Walking Football.

Through a friend, Andrew Walker, the team were put in contact with defibshop in Manchester. The club’s defibrillator preference was the Heartsine Samaritan PAD 360P. CPR and AED training was given to a number of the club’s members which was then cascaded down to the whole group. Certainly, nobody expected the device to be used.

At 4pm on Thursday 24th of May, the team assembled as normal at the local sports centre where they trained weekly on the artificial pitches outside. After a warm up the teams were chosen and set about playing a game comprising two halves of twenty minutes each.

When halftime was announced, the team went to take on some water, Stuart being one of them. He reached an area off the pitch where he collapsed. His head hit the ground and his fellow players rushed to his side.

One of the people present on that day was Lorraine Connor, an ex-nurse. Lorraine, right, had been refereeing the game. Recognising the signs, Lorraine sprang into action. Stuart was not breathing and did not have a pulse or a heartbeat. She demanded that the defibrillator be brought over to her and commenced CPR while team members Kevin Leonard provided mouth-to-mouth and Steven Howarth used the defibrillator. While all this was happening, Dave Lock requested an ambulance.

The electrode pads were placed on Stuart by Steven as per his training and moved clear of Stuart who at this point was cyanosed, going blue around the lips and face. The team watched the electric shock that was delivered to Stuart and watched him open his eyes. Stuart fitted but regained his breath and had a heartbeat. Stuart was then placed into the recovery position by Lorraine, right, but this proved to be slightly more difficult than usual as Stuart was involuntarily restless.

Steven went close enough to Stuart to ensure he could hear him and explained to him that he had collapsed, to stay calm and the paramedics were on their way to provide further care. In Steven’s words he assured him that he was “okay”.

Three ambulances, ten paramedics and the police arrived soon after. A friend of Stuart's, Paul Hainsworth, was dispatched to get hold of Stuart's wife, Maureen. With the aid of a Police Officer, the team translated what had happened to the lady Paramedic in charge.

The team soon realised that all they knew about Stuart was his name. They did not know his age or any other important details, however, this has since been rectified by the creation of a folder with every player’s full details, emergency numbers, medical history etc. This is taken everywhere with the team and is kept with the defibrillator.

Once stable, Stuart was placed into one of the ambulances and taken, initially, to Alicante Hospital where a Cardiologist awaited him, apparently ready to insert stents to open his arteries. Stuart's wife had arrived with Paul and they followed the ambulance on their emergency run. It transpired that Stuart needed a triple heart by-pass rather than stents. He was then transferred to a hospital in Elche, where he was operated on during the Friday morning by Dr. Tebar Cardiologist/Surgeon.

Dr.Tebar has since told Stuart how fortunate he had been. The Doctor confirmed:

“It was the sharp action of his teammates and the presence/use of the defibrillator that had saved his life.”

Stuart was in hospital for four and a half days prior to being discharged. Stuart has since been contacted and visited by his team members. After visiting, Steven Howarth said:

“He looks incredible. Healthy, vibrant and ready to fly back to see relatives in the UK. Without the defibrillator, I can’t bear to think what may have happened to Stuart. The results would not have been the same”.

Since the Save

Since Stuart's life has been saved and is recovering, the team at Portobello Bar Walking Football Club has been awarded with life-saver awards to recognise their life-saving achievements.

The only definitive treatment for sudden cardiac arrest is effective CPR performed on a ratio of 30 chest compressions to 2 rescue breaths and defibrillation of the heart from an AED. Many people are under the impression that when someone suffers a cardiac arrest, their heart stops completely whereas really it has entered into an irregular rhythm that causes their patient’s heart to quiver rather than beat.

The quivering of the heart makes the muscle incapable of pumping blood around the body, meaning vital organs are deprived of the oxygenated blood. If treatment is delivered within 3-5 minutes of the victim collapsing, their survival chance increases significantly from 6% to 74%.

Everyone here at defibshop was thrilled to learn that another defibshop-supplied device had saved a life. It reminds us why we do what we do. Quite simply, we save lives!

To explore your defibrillator options, take a look at our page or get in touch with one of our Product Specialists on 0845 071 0830.