Would you know what to do in a cardiac emergency? Ask our expert

[EllieSmumsnet]

It’s a common belief when we hear about sudden cardiac arrest or heart attacks, that it affects someone older, someone unwell, someone else. But cardiac arrest can happen at any age and as MyDefib has noted, 80% of cardiac arrests that happen outside of hospital occur at home*, where family members become the first responders.

Survivor and Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK advocate Gareth Cole is helping to challenge the myths and answer the questions many families are afraid to ask, from who’s really at risk, to what you should do in those first critical minutes and what life is like after.

As a survivor and advocate for cardiac arrest awareness, he is partnering with MyDefib to turn awareness into action at home - empowering families to respond confidently to cardiac arrest before it happens, with the mission of saving lives.

Do you have a question about heart health, heart attacks, or cardiac arrests? Gareth is here to answer them.

Share your question by 17/04/026 for a chance to win a £200 voucher (T&Cs).

References - *
mydefib.co.uk/about/

About Gareth:
Gareth knows firsthand the challenges of life after cardiac arrest.

As a survivor, he has turned his experience into a passion for supporting others on their recovery journey. Through his role with Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK, he helps raise awareness, advocate for better aftercare, and foster a strong, supportive community for survivors and their families.

Gareth believes that recovery is more than just surviving—it’s about reclaiming life, finding purpose, and connecting with others who truly understand. His positivity, resilience, and dedication make him an inspiring figure in the cardiac arrest survivor community.

You'd think they'd be further along than they are currently. My sister began having heart issues since just before covid hit. It's been a struggle for any doctors to take her seriously as most just put it down to anxiety. She's collapsed several times and they put it down to panic attacks but these have all been random so doesn't make sense at all. She's been diagnosed with heart arrythmia, but nobody can tell her what's causing it. Imagine going from 100% health to 20%.

I guess I can only hope it gets better from here for all the other women who are in similar positions.

Yes, give them 500mg of soluble aspirin if you can, sips of water, into the recovery position if they are struggling, and keep them warm as they may go into physical shock.

I don't think I would - much to my embarrassment, I did some training at school with a plastic dummy, to learn CPR - but don't think I would remember or be calm enough with a loved one - yet a lone a stranger to help - but think we ALL should have a basic knowlege. So my Q would be - where would you direct a novice who wants to be prepared to help in an emergency - from the posts above I will get some asprin for a mild heart attack.

When you call 999 the call taker will tell you exactly what to do (true for catastrophic bleeds, emergency childbirth, choking as well as a cardiac arrest). They will also advise aspirin if they suspect a heart attack (300mg dose, 16yrs old and older only).

Just google “community first aid training near me”. St John Ambulance and Red Cross offer courses; there may be free courses being run by community groups or your ambulance service; and there are loads of local first aid training companies.

Pretty sure it’s the British heart foundation that has a list of where they all are

What is the first sign that someone is having a heart attack, especially those that are young? How can you tell the difference between a heart attack and a panic attack, since doctors are always inclined to tell people that they've had a panic attack?

A family member had a previous cardiac arrest and now has an ICD. If another cardiac arrest occurs the ICD should take over but should we attempt CPR or leave the ICD to deliver shocks? Of course we'd call 999.

I'd want to know what are the early signs which you should not ignore - and when should I go to A and E or the GP with them (or take someone with symptoms)

Can you improve heart health? After a cardiac incident?

What's something that every household should know about heart failure and what to look out for if someone says their chest is hurting? As in, how do you know when it's serious?

What are some common signs that someone has a heart issue and should get checked out?

There are several good videos on youtube
Defibrilators have very clear instructions ,all is needed that you can read English
Hope you never have to use

Is there anything you can do , if you feel you are having a cardiac episode yourself, but are alone and unable to get help quickly ?

On the heart attack vs cardiac arrest (and it drives me mad when things are reported as one and not the other).

Think of your circulation like your central heating system. The main purpose of your heart is to work like the pump in the boiler. Get the blood around your system.

When you get a blockage in the pipes it can be a problem, a heart attack (blockage basically in the pipes near the pump) or if the blockage is elsewhere it can be a stroke or thrombosis. If it is very near the pump this is a heart attack.

The other part of the heart / boiler is the electrical timing. In your heart this is an electrical system that initiates every bet of your heart (technically it isn't but we are not going in to that much detail). A piece of the heart muscle is dyeing.

When this stops working it is a cardiac arrest.

An ECG shows this activity from different directions so it shows a cardiac arrest but it can show lots of other things, eg bundle branch blocks, the electrical activity can indicate what is going on in the pump eg if you are having a heart attack the electrical information will show, "ST elevation" in the ECG.

A pacemaker can take over the timing of your heart if your own electrical system isn't working well.

To add a couple of things to what has been said already.
First- there is lots of info on YouTube etc…, so worth doing some research yourself on what to do & what symptoms to look for. It is easy to sign up for basic courses & worth doing. Perhaps sign up with a couple of friends or family members.
Find out ahead of time where your nearest defibrillator is to your home. There are more around than you might realise.
I’ve heard of people in remote villages who have all contributed to buying the village one & have put it somewhere everyone can find easily.
The 999 staff will talk you through every step- but even a little knowledge is better than none at all.
If you’re reading this thread you’re already obviously interested.
In the event of a cardiac arrest whatever you do is better than not doing anything at all. Think about it- things can’t get even worse for the person who’s heart has stopped.

Heart attack and cardiac arrest are not the same. If it’s the former you call 999, give 300mg of aspirin and her GTN spray. If it’s the latter, ie, her heart stops and she stops breathing, if she’s elderly, frail and petite, let her go. No CPR will bring her back and would be very distressing for you, you’d just break her ribs and if you did miraculously restart her heart, she’d just die in pain in hospital.

The only way to differentiate is an ECG and cardiac bloods.

You do both. The internal defibrillator will attempt to reset the rhythm, hopefully before they collapse, but if they stop breathing you need to do chest compressions to pump the blood around to the vital organs.

My village has just had a defibrillator installed and training is being offered but it's always when I'm at work.
Is it easy enough to follow the instructions on the defib in an emergency?
How do you know you need to use one?

My dad had a heart valve replacement when he was in his 40's and died of a heart attach in is early 50s, (was a smoker and drank) I don't do either, but am not sure if his heart attach was something hereitory as my grandad also died young - 55, I am 35 now and want to know if I should have tests as I feel to be at risk - my doctor won't refer me to a cardologiyst - what would you advise

I would like to know are the symptoms for men and women different. Everyone knows the vice like pain but I’m often hearing about women’s symptoms being a lot less obvious

They give verbal instructions as well as pictures. You cannot get it wrong, ie, it will not shock somebody who doesn’t need it.
You only need to use it when somebody isn’t breathing. Although if you’re with someone who looks like they’re about to collapse with chest pain it wouldn’t hurt to grab it just incase, if someone is available to fetch it.

That's really reassuring, it's a worry of mine -being able to use one -if needed.

I helped give CPR to someone last year. We used the defibrillator also. We shocked them 3x times, by the time they were going into the ambulance, they were awake and screaming ~ that shocked me the worst, because we'd caused them pain... Mad eh!

It started with a guy falling back on his chair and his partner screaming. They were both close to 80 years old. Two people went over, I kept out the way. As they put him onto his back and checking for response, his family members (children) started to cry. By this point, I walked over, dragged a few tables out the way and moved the children. They shouted for a defib.
I sprinted to 2 buildings, the 2nd building had one..

Running back it the building, the doors were held open and straight to the patient. I was now part of this. Straight to the side of them, chest compressions had already started. I knew the person giving compressions, we had worked together and had the same trg. We pulled his shirt up, got the pads on and started the defib.

It called for a shock, I scanned around, made sure we were clear, then called for the shock to be pressed by a 3rd person. The patient made a noise, then we checked for breath etc.

Chest compressions started again, I offered to take over, I reminded them of the pace and depth.

By now, an ambulance was on the way. I asked if the vehicle could get to us, or would we need to move the patient to the ambulance (drag/carry).

The ambulance arrived, we swapped the pads over, they shocked him again. We thought that we would hand over, but we had to continue. Eventually once they were setup, they injected him, did some magic and he came around.

By now, crowds had appeared. I knew the other person was capable. I checked for breathing, airway etc. We had offers of help, but that would have let an unknown into the situation.

Once the ambulance has left, we brushed up the mess left behind, gave a high-5, put the tables back, then continued with the day. I cried on the way home, then had nightmares for a few weeks (feel/touch/smell/colour).

In short, doing something is better than nothing. This stuff happens when you don't expect it. I now keep an eye out for defibs..

Three years ago, my DP had a heart attack and effectively "died" in front of me. I dialled 999, got my DS down to pull DP on to the floor (I'm disabled and was unable to do it) sent him to get a neighbour, commenced CPR. Neighbour took over. The ambulance took 11 minutes to get to us. Three zaps with the defibrillator sort of got him back.

He's fine now but it was hell at the time. The nearest defibrillator to us was over 1 mile away.

I urge everyone to attend a first aid class. I was well versed in it,as was the neighbour I sent my son to get. THAT, above all, was what saved my DPs life and made sure he functions fully, as before.