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A rugby player from Oxfordshire who says he’s lucky to be alive after suffering a cardiac arrest, is on a mission to get more young people learning CPR.
Morgan MacRae, 22, from Henley-on-Thames, suffered a cardiac arrest in August.
His girlfriend had to perform CPR until paramedics got to him – but if she hadn’t have known the life-saving skill, Morgan says it could have been a different outcome.
“The doctor said the work she did, and how quickly she did it, saved my life,” Morgan said.
“It meant that my brain was saved and I wasn’t in a different state.
“By people knowing these life-saving skills, that qualification can quite frankly save your life.”
Morgan had been in London with friends when one night he suffered a cardiac arrest, despite being an aspiring young rugby player in the peak of health.
Luckily his girlfriend Kitty had been taught CPR at her university’s sports society and was able to perform the life-saving treatment which doctors say had been vital in Morgan’s outcome.
Morgan was put into a medically induced coma for two days and spent a week in intensive care before being fitted with an implanted defibrillator to monitor his heart.
A charity promoting heart screening programmes says heart conditions can develop at any age.
Dr Steven Cox from Cardiac Risk in the Young told ITV Meridian that young people are at risk of undiagnosed heart conditions.
He said: “Young Sudden Cardiac Death affects 12 fit and healthy young people every week in the UK.
“We’re contacted almost every day by a family whose child has died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition. About 1 in 300 people we screen will have a potentially life-threatening condition which they’re not aware of.”
