Picture this situation: a member of the public collapses in front of you, they are not breathing and have no pulse. Remembering your First Aid training, you recognise this as a cardiac arrest, begin Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and call 999 who refer you to the nearest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to your location.

After sending another bystander to collect the AED, you attach the electrodes to the casualty’s chest and wait for the device to analyse. The AED recommends a shock, and ultimately delivers three shocks before the casualty regains a heartbeat and is taken to hospital.

What seems like a heroic act to almost everyone may have actually been against the wishes of the person who suffered the cardiac arrest. So, can they actually take legal action against you for saving their life if they didn’t want you to?

While the final of Euro 2024 ended in disappointment for England fans, the tournament was a major win for education around cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA).

Training in CPR was given in partnership with the European Resuscitation Council at fan zones across Germany. The campaign’s aim was to educate football fans, players and coaches on SCA and increase rates of bystander CPR.

As the dust settles on a historic landslide victory for the Labour Party, one glaring absence was clear in each major party's manifesto throughout the election.

Neither Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the Green Party or Reform UK mention defibrillators in their manifesto. With around 60,000 deaths as a result of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA) each year in the UK, how can such a major issue be overlooked completely?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a serious medical emergency in which the heart suddenly ceases the ability to effectively pump blood around the body. Awareness of SCA has increased recently, thanks in part to high profile cases involving sportspeople such as Christian Eriksen and Damar Hamlin.

These cases are, for many, the first time they have heard about sudden cardiac arrest. Elite athletes suffering SCA in a stadium full of people is a traumatic event for all involved and makes front page news.

Why is such a dangerous medical emergency happening to athletes who are among the fittest in society?