Cardiac arrest survivor Murray Hanley has thanked paramedics during National Restart Your Heart Week.
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Mr Hanley was rushed to Wagga Hospital during August last year after he developed chest pain which was later confirmed by paramedics to be a heart attack.
He had a cardiac arrest on the outskirts of Junee.
Young Ambulance Inspector Stephen Pollard and paramedics Ian Pollard and Sinead Bailey managed to restart Mr Hanley's heart.
He was given one shock from a defibrillator and Ms Bailey performed about 60 seconds of CPR before Mr Hanley sat up to ask "what are you doing?"
"I don't remember any of that," Mr Hanley said.
"I'd just been doing some exercises and the pain in my chest got worse quickly and sweat started running out of me, but it was actually cold so I knew it was something more serious.
"My wife rang the ambulance and I was told I was having a heart attack and needed to be taken to Wagga."
Inspector Pollard said Mr Hanley had a significant blockage in one of his main coronary arteries.
"We defibrillated him once and that did its job. It's designed to stop the heart, people don't realise, and get the straight line. The female officer she did about 60 seconds of very vigorous CPR and he grabbed hold of her, sat up and said 'what are you doing?
"We took him to the cath lab we're the blockage was identified and fixed up with a stent before it could occur again.
"They put the stent in and inflate the stent and the blood flows through to the heart again."
Mr Hanley was in hospital for about five days and returned to work soon after at his barber shop.
"They told me [at Wagga] they had to get my heart going again. I was just thankful they could," he said.
NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dr Dominic Morgan stressed the importance of timely intervention.
"Every minute of cardiac arrest your chances of survival reduce by seven to 10 per cent therefore it's vital that we partner with the community to commence CPR and if possible use a defibrillator prior to the paramedics arrival," Commissioner Dr Dominic Morgan said.
"If people remember nothing else they need to recall the slogan Call.. Push...Shock."
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