A granddad of six from Kent who suffered a heart attack while at home has been reunited with the SECAmb crews who he says, ‘saved his life’.

Dave Hughes, aged 53 from Sheerness, Kent, who is an ex-kickboxer, was at home with his wife Angie in the early hours of 3 May 2025 when he started to struggle with what he assumed was indigestion.

Dave was experiencing stabbing chest pains and sickness, as well as feeling extremely clammy. Angie made the desperate call to 999 after Dave’s condition suddenly worsened.

With someone admitted to hospital for a heart attack approximately every five minutes in the UK, Resource Dispatcher, Lauren O’Leary coordinated crewmates and lifesavers Ryan Holden and Lucy Rust to respond to the family’s home.

The pair quickly confirmed Dave was having an inferior myocardial infarction (MI), otherwise known as a heart attack, which occurs when the lower part of the heart’s left ventricle is damaged due to a blockage in the right coronary artery.

Ryan and Lucy worked quickly to stabalise Dave, before organising for him to be accepted at William Harvey’s Percutaneous Coronary Intervention centre (PPCI) which specialises in cardiology. Within an hour of leaving the home, Dave was in Ashford undergoing surgery to have a stent fitted to widen the blocked coronary artery to restore blood flow to his heart muscle.

Within just two days of the surgery, Dave was discharged and back home with his family with a totally new outlook on life. He was now determined to thank his lifesavers and so just four weeks after the heart attack, Dave and Angie visited SECAmb’s Medway Make Ready Centre to reunite with Ryan and Lucy.

The duo was able to talk in more depth about Dave’s ECG (electrocardiogram) results which is a test that records the electrical activity of the heart, as well as some potential causes as to why he had the heart attack.

Associate Ambulance Practitioner, Lucy said “As soon as we stepped foot in the home it was very clear that Dave was having a heart attack and that we needed to get him to a specialist cardiology unit as quickly as possible.”

Paramedic Ryan added “It really made our week to be able to see Dave again just four weeks after his MI and hear about how his recovery is going. He has a new lease of life and it’s fantastic to see.”

“What do you say to people who saved your life? Dave said. “I can't thank them enough because it if wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today. They really are my lifesavers.”