GAA player's pitch heart emergency 'a wake-up call to all'
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THE importance of having a defibrillator and people who have training in CPR was brought home to all GAA clubs this week when a 22year-old Cullen man suddenly dropped to the ground while playing in a league game.
Cullen man Diarmuid O'Connell was described as "a fine, tall, strong boy" by a person who attended the game on Saturday evening in Castlemagner. But for the intervention of two team mates who, importantly, had training in CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation)and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) the situation could have been a lot worse.
Since October 2008 in the Cork region there has been five out of hospital survivals as a direct result of CPR and AED prior to an ambulance arriving to removing the patient to the hospital.
According to Bernard Flynn of the HSE, within the past five years they have provided training for 8,000 people in the Cork and Kerry region in CPR and AED.
"Without question, CPR is paramount for survival. We are aware of the situation in Castlemagner and were clearly delighted that the two boys who helped that young man knew CPR. It cannot be stressed enough but CPR plays a key role in survival," said Mr Flynn.
He said for anyone who is living with a person who has a known history of heart complaints then he strongly advised undergoing training in CPR. "Nobody knows when something could happen to another person but at least if a person has training in CPR then it's certainly a valuable start," he said.
The GAA club at Castlemagner has had a defibrillator (sponsored by Jerry Collins of Autoroller) at every game since 2007 and there are 10-12 people who are trained in its usage.
An AED defibrillator works by telling rescuers exactly what to do, using voice and visual prompts. It automatically analyses the electrical activity of the heart to determine if a shockable rhythm is present.
The popular belief is that a defibrillator is required to help re-start a heart that has stopped. But technically, that is not true. Defibrillators deliver electricity to the heart to restore a faulty heart rhythm, and this falls under the term 'sudden cardiac arrest'.
However, not all clubs have a defibrillator and it was said this week by the Millstreet referee, Denis Hickey, who oversaw the game at Castlemagner that it was "a wake up call to other clubs in the area who do not have a one."
"There was no doubt that through the intervention of the fellow players that by using CPR and the AED revived and kept the patient alive," said Mark Murphy, of National Safety & Training in Kanturk. He said that there seems to be "somewhat of a myth," that the use of an AED is complicated and confusing but this is not the case at all.
"What happened in Castlemagner should send out the signal to all clubs in the area, to get a defibrillator in place and to also get the all important CPR training," said an eye witness at the league game.
- MARIA HERLIHY
