Calls for life-saving defibrillators at every football ground

Following the shocking scenes of footballer Christian Eriksen suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 game with Finland, there are fresh calls for life-saving defibrillators to be readily available at football grounds. 

The Inter Milan midfielder required 13 minutes of CPR after collapsing just before half-time and was then taken to hospital where he is in a stable condition.

His teammates believed they had lost him.

One football fan who was watching the events unfold during the match was Astley Mulholland, whose 19-year-old brother Kyle died playing football in 2005, even though he seemed perfectly fit and healthy.

Mr Mulholland, who plays for Trafford FC in Manchester, has renewed his campaign for defibrillators at all football grounds.

“Seeing Christian Eriksen on the floor brought it all back, and made me think that more still needs to be done to keep players safe at all levels of the game,” he said.

Mr Mulholland set up a petition five years ago to get the English FA to provide defibrillators came after the death of another young player, Daniel Wilkinson. The campaign received 40,000 signatures; however 100,000 signatures are required to force the government to discuss the issue in parliament.

His fresh call for action has been supported by Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard.

“The survival rate for people receiving CPR after a cardiac arrest is around 60%,” Mr Mulholland said.

“But with a defibrillator as well, the survival rates got up to 74-80%. That’s a massive difference and shows how important it is for this equipment to be available at all levels.” 

A cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart stops pumping blood around the body and they stop breathing normally. A heart attack is when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked and the heart muscle is robbed of its vital blood supply. 

Many cardiac arrests in adults happen because of a heart attack. This is because a person who is having a heart attack may develop a dangerous heart rhythm, which can cause a cardiac arrest.

Here at TyTek Medical we give full support to this campaign, which goes in line with our calls for bleed control facilities being readily available in public places.

Lives are needlessly lost due to lack of first aid equipment being readily available in places where the public gather, such as sports grounds, concert halls, shopping centers, gyms, and places of worship.

A trauma victim can bleed to death in five minutes, often before even the quickest of emergency services can arrive at the scene. This is why having the right equipment readily available is so vital. 

Source: Sky News