Pensioner has heart attack in Birmingham's Bullring

Aug 11 2008

A pensioner has had to be treated by shopping centre security staff after having a heart attack in Birmingham.

The man collapsed in the Bullring and staff used a defibrillator to shock the man's heart into rhythm before paramedics arrived.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "The man, believed to be in his 70s, suffered a cardiac arrest and a laceration to his head.

"Before crews arrived, Bullring security staff successfully used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the man and shocked his heart back into a rhythm.

"Crews treated the man at the scene before transferring him by land ambulance to City Hospital where medics were on standby awaiting his arrival.

"Approximately 75,000 people die from a cardiac arrest each year in the pre-hospital care setting in the UK. The more quickly a patient in cardiac arrest can be defibrillated the greater the chance of survival.

"Over 80% of patients suffer a cardiac arrest present with an irregular heart rhythm that is reversible using an AED. Around 85% of these patients have the potential to survive if the defibrillator reaches them quickly."