Couple push for CPR training after cardiac arrest

A rugby player who suffered a cardiac arrest and the girlfriend who saved his life are campaigning for more people to learn CPR.

Morgan MacRae, 22, from Peppard, Oxfordshire, was unresponsive for 17 minutes after suffering an arrest in bed in August.

His girlfriend Kitty Williams, 22, performed CPR, which she had learned at university, until paramedics arrived.

He said extending CPR training would "make the world a safer place".

Mr MacRae, a hooker with Henley Hawks in the fourth tier of English rugby, was in bed at his brothers' house in London early on 11 August when Ms Williams noticed he was not breathing.

"He was gasping for air - I was shaking him quite vigorously," she said.

"His head rolled back and he literally went blue. His eyes went back - he was completely unconscious.

"It was terrifying - I called 999 and started performing CPR."

Ms Williams had been taught CPR while playing lacrosse at Oxford Brookes University.

She said: "Thank goodness I did know. I was confidently able to perform CPR on Morgan and know it was correct and helping him.

"You go into crisis mode - it's down to me now. I just kept going and kept going."

She performed CPR for about eight minutes, supported by the 999 operator, until paramedics arrived and eventually resuscitated Mr MacRae, after shocking him four times with a defibrillator.

After tests in hospital, the cardiac arrest was put down to an ectopic heartbeat sending his heart into a "frenzy".

He was fitted with an S-ICD defibrillator implant.

The couple said their experience showed that "every minute counts" and have pledged to promote CPR training as widely as possible, starting with local schools.

Mr MacRae said: "Being the recipient of CPR, I asked friends and family 'would you know what to do?' and the general consensus was 'no, not really'.

"It was an early goal, to get as many people trained up with CPR as possible to make the world a safer place."

Mr MacRae, who won Henley's Young Player of the Year award in May, said he had already resumed rugby training and hoped to get back to full-contact play.

"There was no evidence exercise was something that caused this - if it had been on the pitch it would be a different story," he said.

"I wouldn't be playing a sport like rugby if I was nervous of lots of things. I've got to trust the experts and go with it."

If someone is unconscious and not breathing normally, you should call 999 and attempt chest compressions, according to the NHS.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].