Cardiac arrest

I was watching the Euro 2020 game between Denmark and Finland, I am sure encouraged by the presence of a Norwich City player on one side and a Leicester City one on the other.    I did not see Christian Eriksen fall but I watched as his teammates formed a barrier round him, and perhaps saw too much as the television companies made a decision what to do.

I was, along with everyone, so pleased that the prompt treatment given to Christian Eriksen brought him back and that he is now recovering.

It was a cardiac arrest - not the same thing as a heart attack - and the British Heart Foundation have a useful page about what a cardiac arrest is, how to treat it, with links to more information.

BBC Breakfast this morning had an interview with people from the Oliver King Foundation and the Justin Edinburgh 3 Foundation - both Oliver and Justin died of cardiac arrests, Oliver at the age of 12, and it was his dad speaking, Edinburgh in his forties, and it was his son talking.  Both foundations campaign for wider awareness of what a cardiac arrest is, the prompt treatment that can be given, and for better access to defibrillators.    A defibrillator was demonstrated on the programme, and I have used one (on a dummy, of course) on a first aid course.

Local to Leicester there is the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, which does similar work.

HeartSafe is a supplier of defibrillators and they have a map of locations (possibly not comprehensive as it invites you to register yours).  A quick search for Sheffield only shows ones in commercial premises (and does indicate them as not available 24/7).   The British Heart Foundation have an initiative called The Circuit, which encourages acquisition and registration of defibrillators.  It is not UK wide, as yet. 

If you work in higher education, check if your institution shows the location of defibrillators on campus.   Mine does, the campus map has icons, and if clicked, you are told if the defibrillator is public and how to get the code to unlock the cabinet.

999 call handlers are the way to get the code for ours, so that, I guess, is how you find out if there is a defibrillator nearby in an emergency.

As I write, it is reported that Christian Eriksen is being fitted with an ICD.    That needs a blog post of its own.