A postman has been hailed a hero after giving CPR to a mother when she had a heart attack and effectively died for 50 minutes.
Ann Carter, 65, stopped breathing while at her daughter Sarah’s house in Stoke Orchard, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on March 14.
The mother-of-three, who lives next door, had popped round with her dog when she suddenly fell ill.
After raising the alarm on the phone, she lost consciousness and fell onto her front on the floor. Sarah came home to find her mother not breathing but was unable to move her and went out into the street to cry for help.
Luckily, postman Shane Clarke was nearby and carried out CPR for several minutes in a bid to get Ann’s heart beating again, despite never having performed the act before.
This proved to be crucial and with paramedics later taking over the CPR, the mother-of-three survived.
Ann Carter, 65, with hero postman Shane Clarke who saved her life through CPR
Ann was put into an induced coma for three days and contracted pneumonia
Ann is sore after having her ribs broken during the extensive CPR
Medics were amazed that Ann not only lived but avoided suffering brain damage, despite not breathing for 35 minutes and then, after her pulse came back briefly, for a further 15 minutes.
Ann, who is recovering at home after a nine-day stay in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester, said: ‘Everyone in the hospital kept telling me all the time that what happened was a miracle. Shane is such a nice guy. He’s an unobtrusive part of the community.
‘I owe him everything. I would not be here without him.’
The incident saw paramedics use a defibrillator several times to try to shock Ann’s heart back into action. An air ambulance also attended because traffic in the area was heavy due to the Cheltenham Festival taking place.
Ann, who was put into an induced coma for three days and contracted pneumonia, had a stent fitted. She is sore after having her ribs broken during the extensive CPR and slightly breathless at times.
But she has made an astonishingly good recovery and is hugely grateful to Shane and the NHS for bringing her back to life.
Ann recovered in hospital after the heart attack which effectively left her dead for 50 minutes
Ann teaches English part-time at Cleeve School in nearby Bishop’s Cleeve and has four grandchildren
Ann has asked the Sudden Arrhythmic Death charity to put Shane forward for one of its lifesaver awards
She said: ‘The first time I saw Shane after I came back home we had a hug and we cried. He said that what he had done was nothing and that anyone would have done it.’
Shane was keen to play down his role in the drama, saying: ‘I was there for eight minutes, the paramedics were there for over an hour – who’s the hero?’
He added that it was ‘brilliant’ that Ann lived and recovered so well and he was grateful that someone talked him through how to do CPR while he was on the phone to the emergency services.
Ann teaches English part-time at Cleeve School in nearby Bishop’s Cleeve and has four grandchildren. She said she hoped everyone would learn how to do CPR and realise you should carry on doing it even when it might seem pointless.
She has asked the Sudden Arrhythmic Death charity to put Shane forward for one of its lifesaver awards and she has reached out to Royal Mail to make it aware of what he did.
has contacted Royal Mail for comment.
While some warning signs are easy to spot — such as severe chest pain — others are more vague and hard to pinpoint. The NHS issued a public appeal after the pandemic
STEP 1
If an adult appears unconscious, gently shake their shoulders and loudly ask if they are okay.
STEP 2
If the person is not breathing, or not breathing normally, ask someone to call 999 and to find a public access defibrillator (PAD).
Call 999 yourself if no one is around. Call handlers will give instructions on how to perform CPR.
STEP 3
Start chest compressions.
Kneel next to the victim and place the heel of one hand on the centre of their chest. Place the other hand on top of the first and interlock your fingers.
Keep your arms straight and use the heel of the hand to push down firmly between the breastbone – around 5 to 6cm – and release.
Do this at a rate of 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute – around two per second.
Songs including Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees, Eye of the Tiger by Survivor and Wannabe by the Spice Girls all have 100 to 120 beats per minute, so medics recommend thinking of these songs while performing CPR.
STEP 4
Keep performing chest compressions until 999 crews arrive on the scene and take over, or the person starts to regain consciousness – by coughing, opening their eyes, speaking or breathing normally.
If someone is nearby, it can be performed in turns.
STEP 5
If a defibrillator is found, turn it on and follow its instructions.
The machine will detect whether a shock is needed. Some of the gadgets will shock without prompt, while others will advise if a shock needs to be pushed to deliver the shock.
RESCUE BREATHS
While delivering chest compressions, give rescue breaths if you’re comfortable to do so.
The British Heart Foundation says CPR without mouth-to-mouth is still very effective at keeping the heart pumping.
To give rescue breaths, tilt the person’s head back gently and lift their chin up with two fingers.
Pinch their nose. Seal your mouth over theirs and blow hard for one second. Do this twice.
Then pump the chest for 30 counts before giving another two rescue breaths.