Matfield Couple Marry, Months After 999 Call-Handler's Quick Ear Saved His Life

When Bill, from Matfield, collapsed at home on 19 May this year, the laboured, snoring-like sounds he was making led his partner Tracy to think he might be having a seizure. The call-handler who answered her 999 call, Isabelle, recognised something else: agonal breathing, a well-known but easily missed sign of cardiac arrest. That recognition meant Tracy could start chest compressions, talked through it by Isabelle, before paramedics arrived. Five months on, Bill and Tracy - partners for more than 20 years - have married.

Agonal breathing - slow, irregular gasps that can sound like snoring - is one of the most commonly missed signs that someone's heart has stopped. South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), which covers Kent including West Kent, says anyone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally needs an immediate 999 call and CPR, guided by the call-handler, rather than waiting to see if the gasping settles. "Tracy did an incredible job in extremely frightening circumstances," Isabelle said. "She listened carefully, followed every instruction and started chest compressions when Bill needed them most."

Critical Care Paramedics Josh and Chris were the first clinicians to reach Bill and found him in cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm. They began advanced life support, including defibrillation, and were shortly joined by Student Paramedic Leander, Paramedic Katie and Advanced Paramedic Practitioner Taryn. The team delivered one shock at the scene; a further 13 were given on the way to the specialist heart attack centre at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, before Bill's heart rhythm was restored. At hospital he had a stent fitted to reopen a blocked artery and was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which can deliver a shock if a dangerous rhythm returns.

Three months after his cardiac arrest, Bill and Tracy visited SECAmb's Paddock Wood Make Ready Centre to be reunited with Josh, Chris, Isabelle, Katie and Taryn. "I can't thank Tracy and the ambulance team enough for everything they did for me," Bill said. "Without their quick actions, I might not be here today." The couple, together more than 20 years, have since married.

SECAmb says agonal breathing can sound like snoring or gasping, with slow, irregular or laboured breaths - and isn't a sign someone is breathing normally. If someone is unresponsive, call 999 immediately and put the phone on loudspeaker; if they aren't breathing normally, start CPR straight away and follow the call-handler's instructions, rather than waiting for the gasping to stop.

Source: South East Coast Ambulance Service