Lucky man and a super-fit exercise fanatic ‘died’ for seven minutes, amid an alarming rise in cardiac arrests among slim young people.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Dale Bilson, from Castle Donington in Leicestershire, began to feel tight chested moments after joining his wife’s gym class in August.
After his chest pain worsened, forcing him to leave the class, he rushed to A&E to get checked out.
But just minutes after arriving, the marketing boss who had no prior heart-related issues, suffered a cardiac arrest in the waiting room and was given CPR.
Doctors had to shock his heart three times to bring him back to life, with his heart technically stopping for an excruciating seven minutes.
Mr Bilson the underwent emergency surgery where he had a stent fitted.
CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
It comes as data has shown a concerning rise in cardiovascular conditions including heart attacks, coronary heart disease and strokes among younger, fit and active adults.
A number of factors are thought to be at play including drug use, obesity, sedentary lifestyles and bad diets.
But the timing strongly implies the Covid pandemic has played a role.
The virus itself causes widespread inflammation in the body that can damage the heart or lead to blood clots.
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HIS ORDEALS
Recalling his terrifying ordeal, he said: ‘My wife persuaded me to do an early morning HIIT class at our local gym. We started doing the warm up and I felt more tired than I normally would.
‘I managed one set of circuits doing burpees and squat thrusts and my wife looked over at me and said “you’ve already stopped, I thought you were fitter than this”.
‘At the start of the second circuit, I thought this doesn’t feel right at all. I felt like I needed some fresh air and took myself out of the environment.
‘My chest was starting to feel a bit tight, which developed into a bit of pain.
‘Being a bloke, I thought I’ve already been a wimp leaving the class so if I leave it five minutes, the pain will wear off.’
After the tightness failed to subside after 15 minutes, his wife Sophie drove him to their local hospital.
But two minutes later he suffered a cardiac arrest.
