Cardiac arrest survivor from Leamington urges defibrillator owners to register devices on new database to help save lives

A cardia arrest survivor from Leamington is urging the owners of public access defibnrillators to register them on a new database to help save lives in the same way his was.

Ripon Danis' life was saved by passers by who used a defibrillator to help restart his heart after he had suffered a cardiac arrest.

The father-of-two was heading home from a Muay Thai class when he had a sudden cardiac arrest at a railway station in November 2018, aged just 37.

Ripon, now aged 40 and who works as a public health official, was then taken to hospital and put on life support for four days.

He required two stents to be fitted to help improve the blood flow to his heart.

supporting the campaign by leading charities and health organisations which is urging the owners of public access defibrillators in the West Midlands to register their devices on a new national database, called The Circuit.

He said: “I was in the best shape of my life before my cardiac arrest. I exercised regularly and watched what I ate, I felt invincible. That’s why I never thought I would have a cardiac arrest.

“I was fortunate that a passer-by acted quickly and ran to get a defibrillator from the station while another person started giving me CPR. But I was one of the lucky ones. If it weren’t for a defibrillator and CPR, not only would I not be alive, but I wouldn’t have gone on to have my second daughter.

"A defibrillator and CPR ultimately saved my life, and I dread to think what the outcome would have been if there wasn’t a defibrillator nearby.

“I would urge defibrillator guardians to register their defibrillator now, to help save more lives.”

There are around 3,700 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the West Midlands, but just one in 13 people survive.

Every minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent in some instances, but immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) St John Ambulance and Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), are warning that the UK’s low survival rate is likely to be in part because public access defibrillators are used in less than one in 10 out of hospital cardiac arrests.

This is often because 999 call handlers are not always aware that a defibrillator is available nearby, because the ambulance service has not been told about it.

While ambulance services have previously had their own regional databases, The Circuit will eventually replace these with a new national database that lets the ambulance services see defibrillators across the UK once it has been rolled out.

This will allow them to direct people to the nearest defibrillator when somebody is having a cardiac arrest.

Anthony Marsh, chief executive of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), said: “We know from other countries like Denmark that where there are more defibrillators available, more lives can be saved.

"We also know that there are potentially hundreds, if not thousands of defibrillators in the West Midlands that we simply don’t know about.

“By registering your defibrillator on The Circuit, we will be able to direct members of the public to them when there is a cardiac arrest nearby.

"By registering your defib, you will become part of a lifesaving team.”

Visit TheCircuit.UK for more information or to register your defibrillator for free.