A super-fit exercise fanatic who ‘died’ for seven minutes, has told how he is lucky to be alive, amid an alarming rise in cardiac arrests among slim young people.
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.
Dale Bilson, from Castle Donington in Leicestershire, began to feel tight chested moments after joining his wife’s gym class in August. Pictured, Mr Bilson with wife Sophie
After his chest pain worsened, forcing him to leave the class, he rushed to A&E to get checked out. Pictured, Mr Bilson with daughter Margot
Mr Bilson the underwent emergency surgery where he had a stent fitted.
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.
Depression, anxiety and stress also surged among young people during lockdowns – and all three have been linked to heart attacks.
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.
Mr Bilson added: ‘They started CPR on me and put me onto a machine that does CPR mechanically which forces your heart to start beating.
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
‘They tried to get my heart started on its own, but it didn’t work the first two times apparently. They said I had no heartbeat for seven or eight minutes.
‘Apparently if it was over nine minutes, your risk of not being resuscitated goes up massively. Soph was told to phone everyone to come see me and say goodbye.’
Medics determined that Mr Bilson’s cardiovascular emergency was triggered by blockages to three arteries in his heart.
Without CPR, cardiac arrests can kill in minutes.
Because the heart stops and all signs of life cease, it is considered a form of death, though not in the legal sense, as it can be reversed through restarting the heart.
This is done either by CPR or a shock from a defibrillator, but neither method guarantees survival.
Mr Bilson, who regularly plays rugby, football and goes to the gym, said: ‘At my age it was pretty much unheard of.
‘Family history is a big part of and we think stress had an impact. Almost every doctor I’ve spoken to has told me how young I am.
Medics determined that Mr Bilson’s cardiovascular emergency was triggered by blockages to three arteries in his heart
While some warning signs are easy to spot — such as severe chest pain — others are more vague and hard to pinpoint
‘The doctors told me that the stars aligned.
‘If I hadn’t been with my wife at the gym, she wouldn’t have been able to drive me and I could’ve gone into cardiac arrest on the way there.
‘So many different things went in my favour.
‘It hit home that my daughter could’ve been going to her first day of school without a dad and my wife Sophie would’ve been a widow at 28.
‘I would tell people to always check out their family history and if you have any concerns at all, get yourself checked out at the doctors.
‘And if you’re in a situation where you think you’re having a heart attack, phone 999.’
Earlier this year, alarming data revealed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, had hit their highest level in more than a decade.
NHS data shows a rise in the number of younger adults suffering from heart attacks over the past decade. The biggest increase (95 per cent) was recorded in the 25-29 year-old demographic, though as numbers of patients are low even small spikes can look dramatic
MailOnline has previously highlighted how the number of young people, under 40, in England being treated for heart attacks by the NHS is on the rise.
Cases of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes among the under-75s had tumbled since the 1960s thanks to plummeting smoking rates, advanced surgical techniques and breakthroughs such as stents and statins.
But now, rising obesity rates, and its catalogue of associated health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are thought to be one of the major contributing factors.
Slow ambulance response times for category 2 calls in England — which includes suspected heart attacks and strokes — as well as long waits for tests and treatment have also been blamed.
Despite claims from anti-vaxxers, cardiologists say fears that Covid vaccines might have fuelled an increase in heart problems are way off the mark.
