A cyclist has become best pals with a stranger who saved his life when he suffered a heart attack while riding his bike.
Darren Neil, 41, was on his way to play golf when cyclist Jamie O’Kane, 60, collapsed in front of his car. Darren’s quick thinking saved Jamie’s life after he administered CPR by the roadside while waiting for paramedics.
The pair now share a close both, and both are determined to make sure as many people as possible learn the life saving skill.
Darren, of East Calder, West Lothian, said: “It feels like everything was set up for Jamie to survive that morning. It was an isolated road and as I drove up the hill two cyclists went ahead of me, so I was unable to overtake them.
“Suddenly the guy on the right-hand side veered across the road and went headfirst into the kerb. I stopped the car and jumped out, thinking he had a puncture because the front of his bike just buckled.
“I could see he was unconscious and was starting to make noises, fitting, and groaning.”
Dad-of-one Darren, who was taught CPR while learning to be a swimming coach, called 999 and moved Jamie onto the road and began compressions on his chest.
After a few minutes another driver stopped to help – it turned out to be a cardiac nurse who had just finished her shift at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and then a few minutes later the ambulance arrived.
Paramedics used a defibrillator, starting Jamie’s heart at the side of the road but in another stroke of luck, the ambulance was piloting a scheme in which they had a doctor on board.
The doctor anaesthetised Jamie immediately, quickly relieving the pressure on his heart. Once in hospital Jamie, from Bathgate, was placed in an induced coma for four-and-a-half days.
Darren said: “Although I’d broken his sternum, the reality was that if I wasn’t there, he might have died. But I found it very difficult to talk about and I worried, thinking could I have run faster or done the CPR better.
“It was amazing to hear that Jamie was ok, I don’t think I have cried so long in my life, with so much emotion.” When Jamie, a Senior Ink Technician was brought round from his induced coma, he had no memory of the incident.
The ultra-fit cyclist had cycled 70 miles two days before and was planning a 120-mile loop on the day he collapsed, and there was no history of heart conditions in his family.
There are more than 3,200 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Scotland each year and the survival rate is less than 1 in 10.
Medics were unable to say why Jamie had a sudden cardiac arrest.
Jamie said: “People couldn’t believe that I had had a cardiac arrest. I was known as the fit strong guy.
Before he was discharged from hospital Jamie was fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) as a precaution.
He was told there was no reason to think he would be unable to cycle again.
But 12 days after the May 2024 incident he suffered another cardiac arrest on his first cycle after the incident, leading to him hanging up his helmet.
Jamie added: “My message is learn CPR. I was saved and believe we all need to look after each other. It’s not just about the person beside you that you know, but the stranger passing on the street.”
David McColgan, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “Jamie owes his life to Darren who by chance was in the right place at the right time and was able to give him CPR that morning. But you just never know when that day will come and you must ask yourself, will you be ready? It is easy for everyone to learn CPR for free, in just 15 minutes with BHF RevivR. Help us keep hearts beats by learning CPR this Heart Month.”
To learn CPR this Heart Month with RevivR, visit bhf.org.uk/heartmonth