Physio saves life of lawyer after cardiac arrest on squash court

A hospital physiotherapist saved a father of four who suffered a cardiac arrest during a squash match.

Wendy Levin had been relaxing in the bar after playing a game when she was told that lawyer Julian Morgan was suffering a “seizure” on court.

Ms Levin, a community physiotherapist at the Royal Free London NHS trust, gave CPR chest compressions.

With the help of a first aider, she administered electric shocks using the on-site defibrillator in a bid to restart his heart.

London Ambulance Service medics arrived at Coolhurst Tennis & Squash Club, in Crouch End, about 15 minutes later.

They spent an hour stabilising Mr Morgan, 63, before taking him to the Whittington Hospital and then on to Barts Heart Centre, where a stent was fitted to open a blocked vessel.

Ms Levin said: “As soon as I saw Julian I knew he was having a heart attack, not a seizure. He was going purple and did not have a pulse. All I could think was, ‘I have got to get this guy going and get a heartbeat’.”

Mr Morgan, of Highgate, is recovering well after his collapse in February. He said he was “deeply grateful” to Ms Levin for saving his life. “Wendy’s swift intervention has made an immense difference not only to me but to my family as well.”