AVID gym goer Kristian Moors appeared in the picture of health last year, lifting weights three times a week.
But just two days after Christmas, in the early hours of December 27, 2023, he woke up feeling severe pain in his shoulder and back.
The graphic designer, from Sheffield, said: “It was the single most painful experience of my life.
“The only comparison I’ve come up with to describe it was if you’ve ever slammed your fingers in a door – that blinding pain when you can’t think or speak.
“And it didn’t end – it just kept going. I even threw up because of how painful it was.”
Kristian later discovered he’d suffered a cardiac arrest – a life-threatening event that occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating.
The day after Boxing Day in 2023, Kristian woke his girlfriend Sally Field, 48, when he started experiencing his symptoms.
She decided to call 111, and after an over-the-phone assessment, an ambulance was dispatched.
Shortly after paramedics arrived, Kristian lost consciousness.
Paramedics rushed to his aid, giving him CPR and two shocks of a defibrillator to help restart his heart.
Shortly afterwards, Kristian regained consciousness and was rushed to hospital.
There, it was discovered the cardiac arrest had been triggered by a heart attack, caused by a blocked artery.
Tests also revealed that Kristian had high cholesterol. Prior to this, he had no known heart or circulatory issues.
Kristian underwent a procedure to fit two stents into the blocked artery to keep it open and improve the blood supply to his heart.
The now-48-year-old said: “It was only after being taken to the ward when I became aware of the enormity of what had just happened.
“Sally talked me through it, and we allowed the emotions to finally catch up with us and broke down in tears, saying how much we loved each other.
“Afterwards, I was terrified to sleep. Everything ached and I had wires and needles coming out of me.”
The road to recovery
The dad-of-one spent two days in hospital and returned home just days before the New Year.
“Sally had rearranged the furniture in the living room to make the space look different,” said Kristian.
“I even threw away the clothes I was wearing that day and Sally changed the bed sheets.
“I wanted no reminder of the place where a massive trauma had happened to me.”
Slowly, Kristian built up his physical fitness levels and attended cardiac rehabilitation, a programme designed to help him recover.
During this process, he lost a stone of muscle.
But Kristian admits the emotional toll the cardiac arrest had on him and his family was the hardest part of his recovery.
I would be in the shower crying my eyes out, thinking, ‘Why me?’
Kristian Moors
Kristian, who owns a business called Such & Such Design, said: “The anxiety of thinking my heart could stop at any moment was horrible.
“Every time I moved, I could feel twinges and pains. It was overwhelming.
“I felt fragile and vulnerable. I’d struggle to go back to sleep, and on occasion I still do, for the fear that I might not wake up.
“Every time I got a nice message from someone checking in on how I was doing, I’d just start crying.
“This carried on for weeks – it was as if my emotional filter had vanished.”
How to check your cholesterol
Kristian hopes that his story inspires other people to get their cholesterol checked.
Having high cholesterol can increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
There are several ways you can get tested:
- Ask your GP practice, especially if there is a family history of premature heart disease
- Take up the offer of an NHS Health Check if aged between 40-74
- Join research studies like Our Future Health that monitor cholesterol levels
- Enquire at Local pharmacies – some can perform cholesterol tests
- Speak to your GP practice or check your local government authority website to get involved in health improvement programmes that conduct or commission health checks in community
If you have particularly high cholesterol levels and a family or personal history of premature heart disease, there may be a genetic cause for your high cholesterol, known as familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).
If you have any concerns or queries about high cholesterol or FH, you can also contact the British Heart Foundation’s Heart Helpline.
A year on from the cardiac arrest, Kristian is making good progress.
Tests have revealed his heart function is now back to normal and he takes medication to control his cholesterol levels.
“Looking back, I can’t comprehend what I went through,” added Kristian.
“I was feeling so deeply unlucky at the time. I would be in the shower crying my eyes out, thinking, ‘Why me?’ I felt I was in the final chapter.
“But as time has gone on, I’ve tried to flip the script.
“Knowing that a small percentage of people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, I feel extremely lucky to have survived and I’m so happy to still be here today.”
1 in 10 survive cardiac arrests out of hospital
There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year – but less than one in 10 survive.
Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.
Early CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.
This festive season, the British Heart Foundation is urging people to donate to the charity to help fund its lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.
The charity’s ‘gift that keeps on living’ campaign is highlighting stories like Kristian’s to show how vital the BHF’s research is – not only for the millions of people affected by these conditions in the UK, but also for their loved ones.
In the 1960s more than seven out of 10 heart attacks in the UK were fatal.
Today, thanks in part to BHF-funded research, more than seven in 10 people survive.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive at the BHF, said: “Despite six decades of BHF progress, it is heartbreaking to know that at this special time of year, millions of people like Kristian are especially grateful for more time with their loved ones, and are hoping and waiting for treatments and cures that we just don’t have yet.
“But thanks to the generosity of BHF supporters, we can fund vital research to drive progress and find those breakthroughs and cures of tomorrow.
“It truly is the gift that keeps on giving, and I’m so pleased that Kristian is able to spend precious time with his family this Christmas.”
To donate to the British Heart Foundation, visit bhf.org.uk/Christmas.
Symptoms of cardiac arrest
A cardiac arrest is when your heart suddenly stops pumping blood around your body.
It can be mistaken for a heart attack, but the two are different.
A cardiac arrest is an emergency that usually happens without warning.
If someone is in cardiac arrest, they collapse suddenly and:
- will be unconscious
- unresponsive, and
- not breathing or breathing normally – this may mean they’re making gasping noises
Without immediate attention the person will die. So if you see someone having a cardiac arrest, phone 999 immediately and start CPR.
Source: British Heart Foundation
