Each year, more than 2000 New Zealanders suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Nearly three-quarters of those emergencies happen at home.
Nationally, the survival rate sits at just 11%.
But Wellington Free Ambulance is working to change that, with a bold goal of the capital becoming the city with the highest cardiac arrest survival rate in the world.
That ambition became deeply personal for Wellington footballer Nigel Burn, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during a match last August.
In an emotional reunion, Burn recently met the paramedics who helped save his life after he collapsed mid-game.
“Emotional is the right word,” Burn said. “I broke down a little bit during that session.”
Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart unexpectedly stops beating, cutting off oxygenated blood to the brain and other vital organs. Without immediate intervention, it is often fatal.
For the fit and active 54-year-old, it was the last thing he expected, especially after scoring a goal just minutes earlier.
“I remembered the whole game sequence up until that happened,” Burn said. “Then it just went black. My vision just went black, and my knees just buckled.”
Quick-thinking players from the opposing team, Clint Rohloff, Robbie Williams and Duran Butler, rushed to help, performing CPR on a real person for the first time.
“It was a bit confronting, a bit nervous, you’re sort of scared, wondering if you’re doing it right,” Rohloff said. “But as they say in the training, if you do nothing it’s not good. If you do something, it’s better than nothing.”
Their fast response proved critical. The men also located and used an automated external defibrillator (AED), a device that delivers an electric shock to restart the heart.
The difference between life and death
Wellington Free Ambulance said early CPR and defibrillation can make the difference between life and death.
“If they don’t receive any help at all, every minute that goes by is a 10 to 15 per cent less chance of survival,” said Rachel Evans, Heartbeat Programme Manager. “But when you step in and do immediate CPR and early defibrillation, that chance of survival can increase to up to 80 per cent.”
Wellington now compared favourably with Seattle in the United States, which iwas widely regarded as the global gold standard for cardiac arrest survival.
“They have compulsory CPR training for all college-age kids, and defibrillators everywhere, literally on the corner of every street,” Evans said.
Inspired by that model, Wellington’s Heartbeat Programme offered free CPR training, with nearly 10,000 people taking part last year.
The region was also home to more than 530 publicly accessible AEDs, with the programme funding maintenance for any device made available to the public.
“Anyone who wants to buy an AED in our region, if they choose to make it public, we fully fund the maintenance of it,” Evans said.
For Burn, those initiatives, and the actions of strangers, are the reason he is alive.
He says he is grateful to live in Wellington, and grateful to have mates like the ones who stepped in when it mattered most.
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