Visitor revived after heart attack

Seventy-seven year-old Leonard Willett was visiting his brother Frederick, 85, in St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, when Leonard suffered a heart attack and “died.”

Three doctors nearby swung into action to resuscitate him while the “crash” team was called to the ward.  Mr Willett’s life was saved, and shortly afterwards he received angioplasty at St. Peter’s Hospital and four days later he was well enough to be discharged home. Angioplasty is a procedure to restore the blood supply to the heart and prevent the risk of a further heart attack.  Ashford and St. Peter’s has been the only hospital in Surrey to do this procedure for a number of years, saving patients a journey to London.

Before being discharged home to Knaphill Mr Willett said: “I was glad to be in the right place at the right time!  I’d had some pains for two or three days but carried on as usual.  The first thing I knew about the heart attack was waking up in a room with about 10 doctors and nurses around me.  I didn’t think I was going to make it but I did!

“They’ve been very good in here – they don’t mind what they do for you.  It’s been lovely to see the doctors before I go home, and I do thank them for pulling me through.”

Senior House Officer (SHO) Reshma Sayed was with her two House Officers Dr Umbreen Khan and Dr Louiza Tazerout on their ward round when they heard the emergency bell go off in the next bay.

Said Dr Sayed: “I was pointed towards a patient on a bed – but he looked fine.  Someone said his relative was on the floor and there was Mr Willett on the other side out cold on the floor.  He had no output – no pulse and not breathing - and so we shouted for the “crash” team to be called and then Louiza started cardiac compressions while Umbreen dealt with thecannular and I tried to get to his chest.  We had to cut through his suit to prepare to defribullate.”

The “crash” team arrived and after shock treatment Mr Willett revived and was moved to the nearby cardiac ward. Later that morning received angioplasty in the hospital’s angiography suite where Consultant Cardiologist Dr Vince Paul inserted a stentinto one artery to improve the flow of blood to the heart and prevent any further cardiac arrests.

Looking back at the emergency Dr Sayed said that at the time they had felt half scared and half ecstatic.  She added: “It was an incredible experience.”

The three young women doctors, and the “crash“ team on the day are all part of the Care of the Elderly team led by Dr ZahidDhakam who said afterwards: “I am very proud of their response and efficiency.”