Sussex mother who had cardiac arrest tells of moment husband saved her

Sarah Edmonds, 33, who lives near Brighton, collapsed in her three-year-old daughter’s room and was found motionless by her husband James in December 2020.

Sarah said thanks to her husband’s quick thinking she can still celebrate her daughter Arabella’s birthday and “see her face at Christmas”.

She is urging people to learn lifesaving CPR skills with a simple online tool.

• READ MORE: Family reveals horror of waiting for ambulance as dad suffers fatal heart attack

It comes as a recent survey shows that just 50 per cent of people in the UK feel they would know how to perform CPR if a loved one if they went into cardiac arrest.

Sarah said: “Looking back, James was an absolute hero that day.

“It was a horrific situation for him and yet without him doing what he did, I wouldn’t be here. 

“I don’t remember much about what happened. I had gone into Arabella’s room to check on her. I remember feeling a bit breathless and then, within seconds, nothing.  

“Apparently, Arabella had started laughing because I’d collapsed on her bed, and she thought I was playing a game with her. James found me motionless. He could see I’d stopped breathing.

"He called 999 and started CPR on me.  He reacted very quickly – it was purely instinctive. This was all in front of Arabella, so really traumatic for her.” 

Sarah Edmonds with her daughter Arabella and husband James (Image: BHF)

James performed CPR for 20 minutes which kept Sarah alive until the ambulance crew arrive.

Paramedics restarted Sarah’s heart using a defibrillator.

She spent four weeks in hospital before being allowed home. She was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which will help control any potentially life-threatening heart rhythms in the future.

Further tests later diagnosed Sarah had a heart condition called long QT syndrome. 

Sarah added: “Words just cannot express how grateful I am that James was there when I needed him most to give me CPR. Thanks to him I get to celebrate my daughter’s birthday, and I get to see her face at Christmas. This is the difference CPR can make.” 

The British Heart Foundation is also urging the public to learn CPR for free in just 15 minutes – using its online tool, RevivR.

RevivR requires a phone and pillow (Image: BHF)

The tool means anyone can learn lifesaving CPR skills - and all that is needed is a mobile phone and a cushion. 

RevivR teaches how to recognise a cardiac arrest, gives feedback on chest compressions and outlines the correct steps of using a defibrillator, giving anyone the confidence to help in the ultimate medical emergency.  

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of BHF, said: “Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest, and knowing CPR could be the difference between life and death. A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time - it could be your partner, your mum or dad or your child. 

 “Our survey shows that too many of us still haven’t learned CPR and wouldn’t have the confidence to step in if the worst should happen. It only takes 15 minutes to learn with RevivR.”