Super-fit dad ‘died for SIX MINUTES’ while playing football with his son
Andrew Barnett, 45, went into cardiac arrest at the Eastern Leisure Centre in Cardiff last year
A HEALTHY dad "died" for six minutes when he went into cardiac arrest while playing football with his son.
Andrew Barnett, 45, "shut down like a car engine being turned off" in front of terrified Seb, seven, on December 19 last year.
"You literally shut down like a car engine being turned off.
"There were no signs, if there was I would have gone to the doctor".
HEALTHY DAD
Andrew, who works for sportswear giant Under Armour, says he's "fit as a fiddle" and trains five times a week lifting weights and swimming.
He had absolutely no memory of the six days before his collapse when he woke up in hospital, where he was kept under close watch for two weeks.
He could only recall a Christmas party almost a week earlier.
Docs kept him in hospital until the new year, and have since tested him for ventricular fibrillation — a heartbeat problem where the muscle beats quickly and erratically.
Andrew showed staff at the leisure centre his gratitude for saving his life by treating them to watching Wales' Grand Slam win against Ireland from a hospitality box.
CARDIAC ARREST FIRST AID STEPS
A CARDIAC arrest is a life-threatening emergency, where time is of the essence.
But one in five adults don't know how to help if a partner or child suddenly collapses.
Here's the first six things you need to do:
- Shake and shout: Gently shake the person who's unconscious and try to get them talking. If you're on your own shout for help but don't leave the person.
- Check breathing: A person suffering a cardiac arrest won't be breathing. Keeping their head back check for signs they are breathing. The include regular chest movements, listening for breathing, and feeling breath against your cheek. Look and listen for no more than ten seconds. If you're not sure, assume they're NOT breathing. Open their airway, by putting your hand on their forehead and gently tilting their head back. Lift the person's chin using two fingers of your other hand. If you're certain they're breathing put them in the recovery position and dial 999.
- Call 999: If someone isn't breathing, get someone nearby to dial 999. And ask if there's a public access defibrillator available. If there's no one to help, call 999 then start CPR.
- Give 30 chest compressions: Kneel next to the person. Place the heel of one hand in the middle of their chest and the your other hand on top, and interlock your fingers. Using straight arms, press down into the breast bone firmly and smoothly, so the chest is pressed down by 5-6cms. Release and repeat at a rate of around two per second.
- Two rescue breaths: Open the person's airway, tilt back their forehead and lift their chin. Pinch their nose. And take a normal breath, make a seal around their mouth and breathe out. You should see the person's chest rise and fall as you do it. Repeat twice - the two breaths should take no longer than five seconds.
- Repeat: Keep repeating 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths until paramedics arrive. If you would rather not give rescue breaths, call 999 and continue with chest compressions, it's better than doing nothing.
Ben Clarke, the leisure centre boss who ran to Andrew's aid with the defibrillator, said: "It was just before Christmas as well and I was just thinking of his family."
He added that the incident felt surreal and has been left with a "weird feeling" knowing he saved Andrew's life.
Over two million people in the UK have an arrhythmic heartbeat — but about half a million are undiagnosed as their condition hasn't been identified.
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