Ryan suffered a sudden cardiac arrest aged 43, and his heart was restarted by paramedics using a defibrillator despite there being no defib within a two mile radius. Since then Ryan and his wife have passionately campaigned to increase defibrillator access.

Speaking in Westminster, Carla Lockhart said:

“100,000 people a year die in the UK as a result of sudden cardiac arrest. More lives are lost through this than are lost through cancer.

The prevalence of cardiac arrest demands that across the community the access to defibrillators is increased. The stark reality is that without defibrillation the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest drop by 10%. It has been encouraging to see more defibrillators installed in community venues in recent years, but there is still work to do.

It was great to have Lurgan man Ryan Nelson here in Westminster to share his story around his own cardiac arrest, and how a defibrillator helped save his life. Ryan and his wife have since become inspirational campaigners on improving access to defibrillators, and their efforts has seen more installations across the local community.

Today we also got to hear of an exciting development by Rapid Response Revival, who have created a new defibrillator called CellAED which is a tenth of the price, size and weight of current defibs. These technological developments are welcome, and I would encourage anyone involved in a community venue, church, sports club or other location where people meet to explore installing a AED (defibrillator). For more information, get in touch with either Ryan or I.”