As I went to him he fell unconscious and was turning blue

LIFESAVER WIFE TELLS OF TERRIFYING MOMENT HUSBAND HAD HEART ATTACK

A MUM-OF-TWO performed life-saving CPR on her husband as he went into cardiac arrest at their home.

Matthew Kenyon’s heart stopped beating in the early hours while he and wife Emma were waiting for an ambulance for what they thought was something much more minor.

Emma Kenyon, who has been married to Matthew for close to six years, said her husband began to experience a pain similar to indigestion after waking at their home on the outskirts of Kirkburton at around 11pm the previous evening.

When the 39-year-old complained of the sensation spreading to both of his arms, Emma picked up the phone and dialled the NHS non-emergency number 111.

She said: “I rang 111 as a precaution really as I never imagined he could actually be having a heart attack at that age as he is generally fit and well.

“An ambulance was sent and he started to feel a bit better as we were waiting for it to arrive.”

But things quickly turned critical after Matthew complained of feeling dizzy.

“I looked over and he was ‘drip white,’” said Emma, 39. “As I went to him he fell unconscious and was turning blue – that was the point where he had a cardiac arrest. I immediately dialled 999 and the operator talked me through how to do the CPR.

“That is basically what kept him alive until the paramedics arrived with the defibrillator and shocked his heart back into a natural rhythm.”

Matthew – whose family has no history of heart problems – was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where he was fitted with a stent to help unclog a blocked artery.

He was then transferred to Pinderfields Hospital before being discharged. The dad-of-five has now returned to work.

Looking back on the “very scary” moment her husband went into cardiac arrest, Emma said: “I don’t think I realised the extremity of it at the time.

“I knew he wasn’t breathing and when I was instructed to do the CPR I obviously knew his heart wasn’t beating at that point – but I didn’t realise what his chances actually were.

“It was very scary and not a nice thing to go through at all. He was very lucky to survive the out of hospital cardiac arrest – over 90% of people don’t – and is something that can happen to anyone of any age at any time with sometimes no reason for it happening but in most cases it’s caused by a heart attack.”