AutoPulse Helps Save Man’s Life in UK Cath Lab

David Lloyd (third from left) with the AutoPulse and team that saved his life. Photo credit: Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board

May 7, 2015—Everything fell into place for David Lloyd the day he had a heart attack. The 44-year-old Welsh engineer owes his life to his fiancée, paramedics, the staff at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales, and the new AutoPulse^® in the hospital’s cardiac center. His fiancée was there at home to revive him. And paramedics arrived quickly to transport him to Morriston, the largest hospital in Swansea County, where he was rushed into the cardiac catheterization (cath) lab. But while undergoing angioplasty, a procedure that uses balloons and stents to open a blocked artery and restore blood flow to the heart, David suffered cardiac arrest.

Thankfully, an AutoPulse was available to provide CPR because staff could not. During an angioplasty procedure, an x-ray machine is needed to see the heart. If a staff member performed CPR, it would block the view, and the person would be exposed to radiation. The AutoPulse performs high-quality chest compressions using a radio-translucent LifeBand^®, which the x-rays can see through. David is now progressing on his road to recovery.

The AutoPulse used to help save David was donated to Morriston as the result of the fundraising efforts of the cardiac cath lab staff and contributions from local companies, a charity, and patients.