Tideswell company highlights importance of CPR and defibrillators after footballer's collapse

The Denmark player collapsed in the first half of the match against Finland on Saturday. He was given CPR and a defibrillator was used before he was taken to hospital, where he remains, and has issued a statement to say he now ‘feels fine’.

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Tideswell-based company Defib Store said: “Most cases of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) are due to an abnormality of the heart’s electrical rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF) in which the electrical impulses that normally control the heart become chaotic and uncoordinated. The heart stops beating (i.e. it ceases to act as a pump) and the circulation of blood stops.

“Defibrillation is the use of a high-energy electric shock that stops the chaotic rhythm of VF and allows the normal, organised, electrical rhythm of the heart to restart.

“The major factor limiting the number of people who survive SCA is the ability to provide defibrillation within a critical time. Conditions for defibrillation are optimal for only a very few minutes after the onset of VF, although this period can be extended if a bystander provides effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), particularly chest compressions.

"Only rarely are the emergency medical services able to attend and provide defibrillation early enough, and the best way of ensuring prompt defibrillation is for someone nearby to use an AED (automated external defibrillator) to deliver the shock that can often save a life.”

AED’s are easy to use and have clear step-by-step instructions. A map showing the location of defibrillators can be found at https://www.heartsafe.org.uk/.