Swimmer saved by lifeguards after having heart attack in the pool
A KEEN swimmer who suffered a heart attack in the pool was saved by quickthinking lifeguards – who had to shock her four separate times.
Christina Stylianou takes a dip every week to keep in shape after losing a leg to bone cancer as a youngster.
The 44-year-old went into cardiac arrest at the Life Leisure centre in Cheadle, Stockport, before being dragged out of the pool.
The team at the centre – including lifeguards, instructors and managers – gave her CPR and used a defibrillator to restart her heart. They had to shock her four times. Christina, who has been using the pool more than 30 years, said: “Swimming is something that I have always enjoyed. When I was young, I lost a leg to bone cancer so swimming has been a really great way for me to exercise and stay fit. With no previous underlying heart problems, and leading quite a healthy lifestyle, I would never have thought this could happen. I had no water at all in my lungs which shows how quickly I was rescued.
“People think lifeguards at pools have an easy time, and that they are just there to stop things like bad behaviour. But I owe my life to this team.”
Christina does not remember any of what happened following her cardiac arrest, which happened in October last year.
She was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary for tests and stayed in hospital for seven weeks.
Christina was fitted with her own defibrillator – a pacemaker-like device which kicks in should her heart stop.
As well as the physical recuperation, Christina has taken some time to recover mentally. But she has now returned to the centre.
Matt Danby, duty manager on the day, said: “Between us we got Christina out of the pool as fast as we could, where it became clear that she wasn’t breathing.
“We started giving CPR but couldn’t feel a pulse so made the decision to use the defibrillator.
“The paramedics have since told us that if we hadn’t done this, Christina would not have survived.”
Malcolm McPhail, from Life Leisure, said: “We are all so pleased that Christina has recovered and is back joking with staff and swimmers at Cheadle – she is a fantastic character.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the staff involved in saving her life.”