A mum who started experiencing chest pains following a meal at an Indian restaurant confused chest pains for heartburn - when in reality she was having a cardiac arrest. Liz Bambroffe and her husband Lee had left the restaurant after an evening dining out when she started to complain of chest pains.
The pain progressed throughout the car journey as the couple were en route to pick up their children from Formby where family were looking after them. Whilst inside the house, Lee collected their daughter and picked up heartburn tablets for Liz who stayed in the car.
Unbeknownst to Lee, Liz had suffered a cardiac arrest, the Liverpool ECHO reports. Liz's sister Catherine, who had come outside was shocked to find her sister "slumped" inside the car.
Catherine said: "Lee called me and asked for tablets because he thought Liz had heartburn. I just thought the Indian was repeating on her.
"She stayed in the car and did not come into the house. I decided to give her a call and she would not pick up, so I went outside to see if she was okay."
Catherine found Liz collapsed in her car on the driveway and after looking through the passenger side window saw her sister's "lips were blue" and her "eyes had gone". She said: "Her heart had stopped, she was a healthy 37-year-old, it was a shock.
"I ran back into the house and shouted for someone to call an ambulance. Then I dragged her out of the car and onto the drive."
Catherine, 42, performed CPR on her sister for 12 minutes but despite her efforts, Liz was unresponsive. An ambulance arrived and after using a defibrillator a pulse was eventually found and Liz was placed in a coma for two days.
The mum-of-three said: "Luckily she came out the other side with no conditions except a cracked head and a few broken ribs which was because I dragged her out of the car. It was a great outcome but it was hard to go through.
"I'm CPR trained but I never thought I would have to perform it on my sister. It was not all down to me, her husband Lee was amazing through the whole incident."
Catherine received CPR training through a home care business called Right at Home Sefton, owned by her fiancé Jonathan. Now training to be a nurse, Catherine will be running CPR training with Right at Home for up to 200 students and teachers across Southport and KGV colleges.
The training will also be showcasing a new app designed by the British Heart Foundation, that teaches CPR in less than 15 minutes. Training will be administered with the help of Formby company, Smart Rethink.
Catherine said she was inspired to take up the challenge after helping to save her sister's life. She said: "We just hope that this can encourage others to set up these events.
"Because one day it could save someone's life, just like it saved my sister. They will all be trained and get certificates, so if we can just help one other person save a life then that is job done."
The NHS say to 'phone 999 immediately if a person has central chest pain or discomfort in the chest that doesn't go away.'
