How smartwatch saved Hockey Wales CEO’s life after suffering heart attack
“I went for a morning run at 7am as I normally do and about five minutes in I had a massive pain in my chest,” Wapham, who lives in Morriston, Swansea, said.
A 42-year-old man with no health issues suffered a heart attack during his usual morning run and was saved by his smartwatch.
Paul Wapham, the CEO of Hockey Wales, the national governing body for hockey in Wales, Great Britain, shared how he used his smartwatch to get medical attention in time and save his life.
Five minutes into his morning run, Wapham felt “massive chest pain”.
“I went for a morning run at 7am as I normally do and about five minutes in I had a massive pain in my chest,” Wapham, who lives in Morriston, Swansea, was quoted as saying by Wales Online.
“My chest felt tight and then I was on my hands and knees on the road. Initially it was a bit tight but then it felt like it was being squeezed, like a vice. The pain was incredible,” he added.
He said he used his smartwatch to call his wife and was immediately taken to the hospital.
“I managed to use my watch to phone my wife, Laura. Luckily, I was only five minutes away, so she could take me in the car to the hospital. She ran in and called for paramedics, who quickly came and took over,” he said.
At the hospital, it was confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack and there was a complete blockage in one of his arteries. This, left him in shock, he said.
“It was a bit of a shock as I’m not overweight and I try to keep myself fit so I had no risk factors. It was a shock for everybody really, including my family. The care I received was brilliant. I can’t speak highly enough of the staff. I am also really thankful to my wife for bringing me to hospital because it was a shock for her as well.
“It was pretty tense for a couple of hours. It’s reassuring to know that when you need the emergency department, the staff are there for you. The staff there were just awesome, and I just want to say a big thank you to all of them,” he said.
The doctors carried out emergency angioplasty and removed the blockage and then he also had a stent fitted, he said. “I was told I also had pulmonary oedema, where my lungs were filling with fluid.”