“It’s not enough to just have defibrillators, they have to be maintained”

When Athlone GAA player Cathal Joyce suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on the pitch in Mullingar’s Cusack Park in September 2015, his life was saved by a defibrillator and the use of CPR.

Five years on from that event the spotlight is very firmly on the importance of early intervention following the sudden collapse of Christian Eriksen, on the pitch during Denmark’s opening game in the Euro 2020 qualifiers on Saturday evening last.

In the wake of the Eriksen collapse, which had the world looking on in stunned silence during the high-profile game, Cathal Joyce has called for checks to be carried out on all defibrillators to see if they are in proper working order.

“After my collapse in 2015, the whole of Westmeath was flooded with defibrillators, but it is not enough to just have defibrillators, they have to be maintained.”

Cathal, says the importance of early intervention in the case of a sudden cardiac event is “absolutely crucial” and can be the difference between life and death.

“We have all seen pictures of people standing beside defibrillators right across our county, and all over the country, but how many of them are working properly and who is maintaining them?” he asks.

Describing himself as “a straight talker” the 30-year old feels so strongly about the whole issue of proper training in the use of defibrillators and the importance of CPR that he set up a Facebook page called Heart Talk to raise awareness and he travels around the country to schools and community groups to give talks to children and young people. He has also travelled as far as New York and Vienna to give talks as part of his awareness campaign.

“I have trained kids from four years of age and up in the use of CPR and while they wouldn’t have the same strength as an adult, they never forget the technique,” says Cathal. “It is so important that everyone knows how to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and to give CPR.”

Cathal, who is closely associated with the CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) unit at Tallaght Hospital, feels there is a perception out there that cardiac arrest only happens to sports people, but he says it can happen to “anyone of any age, at any time” which further highlights the need for proper training in the use of AED and CPR.

He describes the idea of teaching people the life-saving techniques of how to administer CPR and use a defibrillator after someone has experienced a cardiac arrest as “a bit like getting an alarm after your house has been burgled.”