A West Australian man's life has been saved after a massive heart attack thanks to a quick-thinking onlooker who used a phone app to locate the nearest defibrillator, paramedics say.
Mike Jackson, 57, collapsed after a sudden cardiac arrest at a Busselton brewery on Thursday afternoon.
Staff and guests at Rocky Ridge Brewing rushed to help Mr Jackson, including off-duty nurses who carried out CPR.
Mr Jackson's wife Taryn said they went to the brewery on a whim after she finished work unexpectedly early.
She heard "a giant thump" and turned to find her husband collapsed on the floor.
"I thought he was dead. He was blue," Ms Jackson said.
She said it felt as though time had stood still as first responders leapt to her husband's assistance.
"The whole process, from top to bottom, took maybe 35 minutes, but it was all [in] slow motion to me," Ms Jackson said.
"It's just amazing he was able to be revived.
"He should not have survived that heart attack.
"There were four or five people working on him … after a while, I saw that colour was coming back into his face."
Lifesaving app
Local marine rescue volunteer Luke Carroll was having a quiet drink with friends when he saw Mr Jackson collapse.
While manager Ben Ashton called an ambulance, Mr Carroll used the St John First Responders phone app to find the nearest defibrillator to re-start Mr Jackson's heart.
"The guys were doing CPR and asked the nurses, 'Do you guys want a defib?' And they shouted really loudly at me, 'Yes.'"
Mr Ashton said it was a confronting scene.
"I think he stopped breathing about five or six times … but everyone kept their cool and put their heads together," he said
Mr Carroll rode his bike 350 metres in a mad dash to the Busselton Jetty to grab the defibrillator but had to run back after his bike chain broke.
"I thought, 'I'm not gonna make it,'" he said.
"I knew I had to get there quickly."
Mr Carroll said he felt pure relief when he was able to hand the defibrillator over for the off-duty nurses to use.
"I knew he was in good hands," he said.
Paramedic praises quick thinking
Performing CPR and using a defibrillator greatly increases a person's chances of survival after a cardiac arrest.
Community paramedic Luke Fowler said Mr Jackson was no longer in cardiac arrest when the ambulance arrived.
"The first five minutes within a cardiac arrest are essential," he said.
"Thanks to locating that [defibrillator] on the first responder app and some amazing bystander CPR.
"The upkeep of those [defibrillators], and making sure they're operational within the community at multiple locations, is what's going to save someone's life — as it did in this case."
Mr Carroll said he knew about the app through his training as a marine rescue volunteer.
"Everyone should have the first responder app and memorise where the defibrillators are," he said.
Ms Jackson said her husband was still in hospital and was expected to recover well.
"He doesn't have any brain damage or even heart damage," she said
"I can't thank everyone enough, also the ambos, and the nurses and hospital staff."
