A woman who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while jogging was saved by a courageous passer-by who knew how to perform CPR. Eleri Daniel, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, collapsed just minutes into her run and stopped breathing.
A cardiac consultant was driving by at the time and saw her on the floor. He acted quickly by dialling 999 and starting CPR on her straight away before an air ambulance could arrive to give her shocks of a defibrillator.
Eleri, who was 47 at the time, was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where she woke up two days later with no recollection of what had happened. It transpired that she was living with an undiagnosed heart condition which could easily have claimed her life that day.
Read more: 'I suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for 13 minutes'
"I wasn't aware that I had an underlying heart condition. I thought I was fit and healthy which goes to show a cardiac arrest can happen to anyone. Without the quick actions of a bystander to start CPR I wouldn't be here today," she said.
Eleri, who works at the children's hospice Ty Hafan, said she was "really shocked" when she was told what had happened to her. "Nobody knew who I was in the hospital as I used to go running without any ID on me and no phone," she added. "I was Jane Doe to them.
"I couldn't speak initially so they gave me a big board with letters on which I had to point at. From that they found out who I was and they contacted my parents who were my next of kin."
A pacemaker and defibrillator were inserted into Eleri just in case the same thing happens again. "The hospital keeps an eye on me, I take tablets but thankfully nothing has happened to me since," she added.
One year after the ordeal took place in July 2015, Eleri managed to complete the Cardiff Half Marathon. "That was very emotional," she added. She is now encouraging others to learn how to carry out CPR.
"Even if you aren't trained in CPR, you need to have the confidence to act quickly and do something because ultimately you could save a life," she said.
New data has revealed that more than 6,000 people will have a sudden cardiac arrest in Wales every year - and around 80% of those will happen in the home. Almost one in four of us (24%) have witnessed someone collapse and possibly need bystander CPR and defibrillation intervention.
Yet less than half of adults in Wales are confident in performing CPR. A person's chance of surviving a cardiac arrest will decrease by 10% with every passing minute if CPR and defibrillation is not performed.
Welsh rugby legend Shane Williams is championing a new campaign called 'Help is Closer Than You Think' and has been named as a Save a Life Cymru ambassador. "Calling 999 and having a go with early CPR and defibrillation really does increase the chances of survival," he said. "That is why we are telling people if they find someone not breathing or not breathing normally to call 999 and start CPR immediately. The 999 call taker will tell you where your nearest defibrillator is, but never stop CPR to fetch a defibrillator - send someone else to fetch it for you."
Save a Life Cymru is Wales' national organisation to improve cardiac arrest survival in Wales. The Welsh Government-funded organisation promotes CPR and defibrillation within communities and encourages everyone in Wales to learn or to top up these lifesaving skills.
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