East Preston clubs new piece of kit could save lives

Angmering-on-Sea Lawn Tennis Club has installed a heart defibrillator unit in its clubhouse in Homelands Avenue.

This will allow crucial first-aid to be given to anyone who suffers a cardiac arrest, increasing their chances of survival by as much as ten-fold.

The portable technology, which includes voice prompts to guide anyone using it, was donated by club president Peter King on Saturday (April 26).

Mr King said: “Many people assume that sudden cardiac arrest only affects people who are old, overweight or unfit. However, in reality there are many cases each year of young, fit people, who have shown no signs of any health problems dying from their heart ‘arresting’, or stopping, suddenly and unexpectedly. This unit will help ensure that, as a club, we are doing all we can to safeguard all our members, as well as people visiting us.”

The defibrillator is designed to analyse a person’s heart rhythm and work out whether an electric shock needs to be delivered.

Mr King thanked club member Lorna Osborne for the donation idea.