Footballer’s cardiac arrest highlights importance of life-saving CPR and defibrillation.
Barnsley Football Club has teamed up with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) to promote the importance of CPR following Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest during the Euro 2020 tournament.
Swift action was crucial to Eriksen’s survival when the 29-year-old midfielder collapsed during Denmark’s opening game against Finland on 12 June. He was brought back to life with a combination of CPR - cardiopulmonary resuscitation that involves chest compressions - and an electric shock from a defibrillator.
Reds’ fans will be given the opportunity to learn CPR from ambulance staff at Saturday’s match. Watch out for the players and Toby Tyke in their Restart a Heart campaign t-shirts!
Jason Carlyon, Community Engagement Manager with YAS, said: “The quick reaction of witnesses undoubtedly saved Christian Eriksen’s life, as was the case with Fabrice Muamba, Glenn Hoddle and David Ginola who are also cardiac arrest survivors.
“But not everyone is as fortunate. In the UK, only 10% of people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside hospital survive, partly because they don’t receive early CPR and defibrillation.
“With only one in three people in England performing CPR when they witness a cardiac arrest, it’s important that we give people the confidence and skills to save someone’s life in this medical emergency.
“More patients will survive if more people know what to do before an ambulance arrives, so we are delighted that Barnsley Football Club is supporting our campaign and helping us to create more life-savers.”
First team captain, Cauley Woodrow, added: “We know first-hand how important first aid and CPR is. No one at Oakwell will forget the incident in September 2018, where our very own Steve Croft suffered a cardiac arrest prior to kick-off.
“Alongside the swift response of medical professionals, it was this sort of training that ultimately saved his life. We can’t thank our ambulance services enough for what they did and continue to do, every day.”
Ambulance staff and volunteers will visit 109 Yorkshire’s secondary schools to teach CPR to 30,000 students on Restart a Heart Day (Friday 15 October 2021). Find out more, including CPR tutorial videos, at www.restartaheart.yas.nhs.uk.
The Restart a Heart campaign is supported by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity. Text CPRFIVE to 70085 to donate £5 to support our life-saving training.
