A MAN who miraculously survived a cardiac arrest at this year’s Belfast Marathon is backing a new British Heart Foundation campaign to dramatically increase the number of life-saving defibrillator registrations here.

John Deery (63) from Eglinton, Co Derry, but who now lives in South Belfast, has been a GAA coach with Bredagh for over 25 years. He collapsed whilst running the marathon this year near Finaghy crossroads.

John's life was saved by another South Belfast man, Peter O'Hare, who by chance works with defibrillators and had one in the boot of his car. Peter was due to run the marathon himself but couldn't due to an injury. Whilst using the defibrillator on John, Peter was also aided by another woman who worked as a cardiac nurse.

Fit and healthy from running previous marathons in Berlin, Dublin and Madrid, John had no inkling what lay ahead of him on his run closer to home.

John said: “I’m supporting the British Heart Foundation’s campaign – 'The Circuit' – to get as many defibrillators registered on the circuit as possible as I know that could be the difference of someone surviving a cardiac arrest.”

He added: “My angels were all aligned that day – from the wonderful cardiac nurse who started CPR, Peter who continued with it and had the defibrillator which saved my life, the police officer who immediately got medical help and protection around me and all the other people who helped that day.

"My friends Paul and Regina who rang my wife Janet. The paramedics and the hospital staff. It’s miraculous what happened, I feel that the marathon actually saved my life with all of those people there with such expertise."

The Circuit is a British Heart Foundation project which seeks to register the location of every defibrillator in the UK to give people and medical personnel an easily accessible map of where they can be found.

The BHF has registered over 98,000 defibrillators on The Circuit, with over 3,500 registered in the North, but there are many more out there that remain unregistered. 

Fearghal McKinney, head of BHF NI, added: “John and Peter’s story is truly incredible.

"When someone has a cardiac arrest, every second counts – early access to a defibrillator is vital to give someone the best chance of survival.  

“The quick intervention of Peter and the team of marathon bystanders who helped John on that day is remarkable.  

“I’m delighted to say that many defibrillators in Northern Ireland were registered on to The Circuit as a direct result of this but there are many more out there that remain unregistered.”

He added: “I would urge anyone who has a defibrillator, whether in a public place, community or business but hasn’t yet registered it to please do so and help us create a lifesaving map of 100,000 defibrillator registrations, ensuring more lives are saved in emergencies."