Unlike other cardiac events, sudden cardiac arrest does not discriminate and factors such as the victim’s age, gender, current health condition and ethnicity do not factor when determining the cause of cardiac arrest. Mum of two, Natalie Guilfoyle knew this after her past experiences.
Back in 1996, Natalie’s younger sister Molly sadly passed away due to sudden infant death syndrome at just one-month-old. After becoming a mum of two children, Natalie became increasingly concerned that one of them would suffer the same fate as Molly. This led to her contacting her GP for advice.
After talking through her worries with her GP, Natalie and her husband were offered the opportunity to undertake a free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course at Torbay Hospital, so should their fears be realised, they could confidently react during an emergency.
Just one month later in 2012, Natalie sadly fell victim to sudden cardiac arrest. In the UK alone, 30,000 people fall victim to SCA and without immediate treatment, 90% - 95% of victim’s will not survive.
Natalie’s husband, David arrived home from a 12-hour shift at work at 6:30am as usual, Natalie was in bed and the babies were both in their cots. Initially, Natalie was fine, but with no prior warning, she became unresponsive. David pulled Natalie out of bed began to put into practice what the course they both attended, taught him – luckily, he knew exactly what to do to treat Natalie effectively and in turn, save her life.
After calling 999 and yelling for an ambulance, Paramedics arrived and began to administer drugs to Natalie, but David was instructed to continue CPR until they could take over with their advanced equipment. The Paramedics delivered a total of 4 shocks to Natalie to revive her, but David’s quick actions, prior to the emergency services arrival meant Natalie survived with good neurological function.
Natalie’s husband, David said: “Even now, 6 years on, it still feels like dream. I am eternally grateful for all those involved in saving Natalie’s life, from the CPR Trainer, to the Paramedics and Surgeons and the Cardiology Team at Torbay Hospital, the NHS are truly amazing! But ultimately, without the AED, I don’t believe Natalie would have survived this horrendous ordeal.”
Natalie was later diagnosed with (DCM) Dilated Cardiomyopathy. This is a rare disease where the muscle structures in the heart become stretched and very thin. This leads to the heart ultimately not being able to pump blood around the body effectively, therefore leading to cardiac failure and untimely death. After suffering the cardiac arrest, Natalie was hospitalised for 14 days and after 12 of those days, underwent surgery to fit an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
Natalie said: “It was impeccable timing on my husband’s part and I feel extremely fortunate and grateful for my life, as a very small proportion of people survive this. Statistics show, that after a sudden cardiac arrest, a person will die within minutes without immediate help and less than 1 in 10 people survive”.
Natalie’s supportive network of family and friends have helped them to move on, but there’s not a day that goes by that what could have been is not considered. Natalie’s children - now aged 7 and 8 years - still have their Mum, thanks to the quick actions of their Dad and are both past the worrying ages of cot-death.
With her past and the statistics surrounding cardiac arrest, Natalie made the choice to invest in a ZOLL AED Plus defibrillator to ensure everyone at Silvalea and Fab Frames in Newton Abbot, Devon, are protected against sudden cardiac arrest.
Unlike a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket, defibrillators are still yet to be made a legal requirement for businesses in the UK, therefore businesses have to take it upon themselves to invest in a device and in their staff members lives too.
If a defibrillator is used within 3 - 5 minutes of the victim collapsing and effective CPR is performed on the ratio of 30 chest compressions to 2 rescue breaths, their survival chance increases significantly from 6% to 74%. However, for every minute that treatment is delayed, their survival chance decreases by 10%. Current ambulance response rates in urban areas stand at 11 minutes, meaning that early intervention with a defibrillator is essential when saving someone’s life.
defibshop are committed to equipping everyone with the skills and knowledge to save a life. Speak to one of our Product Specialists on 0161 776 7422 or fill out our Contact Form.
