“I thought she was dead”: Husband saves wife after she suffers cardiac arrest at home

A husband’s quick-thinking saved his wife when she suffered a cardiac arrest at their home in Sutton.

Chris’s wife, Kat, was in the bathroom when she collapsed and her heart stopped beating. He called 999 and followed the instructions of the call handler so he could perform effective chest compressions on Kat.

London Ambulance Service crews arrived shortly afterwards but without Chris’ early intervention 47-year-old Kat would not have survived.

Chris, 54, said:

“I thought she was dead. It was so frightening.

“There was a thudding noise and I shouted to see if she was alright but didn’t get a response.

“I came in and found her draped backwards over the bath, she looked very grey and her eyes were rolled back into her head.

“I realised there was no pulse so I dialled 999. The call handler told me how to start CPR and counted as I did chest compressions.”

A cardiac arrest is a life-threatening emergency where the heart stops pumping blood and oxygen around the body.

The crews arrived and stabilised Kat with several shocks from a defibrillator – a life-saving device which restarts the heart – and took her to St George’s Hospital in Tooting.

Recently Kat and Chris were reunited with the paramedics who treated Kat – Liam Herneman, Andrew Elphinstone and Kelly Strugnell.

Kat added:

“It was so lovely to meet the crews and meet the people who saved me that day.

“I’m so grateful to them for all their efforts.”

Andrew Elphinstone, Advanced Paramedic in Critical Care at London Ambulance Service, said:

“If Chris hadn’t done CPR then Kat would have had a different outcome. Everything he did helped save her life.

“It was great meeting Kat and Chris again in happier circumstances.

“I’d strongly urge Londoners to learn how to do CPR by signing up to become a Londoner Lifesaver. You never know when you might need to help someone you love.”

London Ambulance Service is aiming to make London a city of lifesavers, through organising life-saving CPR and defibrillator training for communities, organisations and schools.

The London Ambulance Charity’s Heart Starters campaign is also installing 200 defibrillators in London neighbourhoods where there is little access to one of these life-saving devices.

 Help us raise money for local communities by joining London Ambulance Charity’s London Life Hike on 26 September. Sign up on our dedicated Charity website here.