Glanamman hero Shane Williams is fronting a new campaign to urge people across Wales to learn lifesaving CPR and defibrillation skills.
This follows a recent survey reveals that less than half of Welsh adults are trained.
The former Wales wing is championing “Help is Closer Than You Think” and has been named as a Save a Life Cymru ambassador.
It comes as new data reveals that every year in Wales, more than 6,000 people will have a sudden cardiac arrest, with around 80 per cent of those happening at home.
Almost one in four (24 per cent) have witnessed someone collapse and possibly need bystander CPR and defibrillation intervention.
“Calling 999 and having a go with early CPR and defibrillation really does increase the chances of survival,” says Shane. “That is why we are telling people if they find someone not breathing or not breathing normally to call 999 and start CPR immediately.”
Save a Life Cymru is Wales’ national organisation to improve cardiac arrest survival in Wales. The Welsh government-funded organisation promotes CPR and defibrillation within communities and encourages everyone in Wales to learn or to top up these lifesaving skills.
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Last year, Shane threw his weight behind calls for every rugby club in Wales to have a defibrillator after Cwmllynfell RFC player Alex Evans suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away during a match.
He has also previously revealed that when playing junior rugby, his friend Craig also collapsed and died while playing.
“I think many of us probably feel that we don’t know how to perform CPR and we’re scared we might do something wrong or cause an injury, but we can all make a difference. Any CPR is better than no CPR and even if you’ve never had training, call 999 and they will tell you what to do.
It’s a common misconception that cardiac arrests happen to men of a certain age, but research shows that men and women of all ages and even children can have a sudden cardiac arrest.
A person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest will decrease by 10 per cent with every passing minute if CPR and defibrillation is not performed.
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