Dad-to-be, 41, who had cardiac arrest in gym class ‘would not be here’ if not for quick-thinking gym owner’s first aid

A 41-year-old dad-to-be who went into cardiac arrest during a gym class feels “lucky and blessed” to have had his life saved by the gym owner’s quick action and first aid skills.

In June 2025, Chris Wall was mid-way through an intense workout class at Robin Oakley’s gym Catalyst Training in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, when he collapsed. Robin, 39, was leading the class and quickly identified the signs of cardiac arrest, promptly beginning CPR and using a defibrillator – fast action that ultimately saved Chris’s life.

Weeks later, Chris was back in the gym, and as the anniversary of his cardiac arrest approaches, he is preparing to welcome his first child – a “miracle baby” – into the world while training for the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton bike ride.

“I would not be here today if I wasn’t in that gym class,” Chris told PA Real Life.

“I’m just super grateful that I was there and the guys knew what they were doing.”

On the morning of Saturday June 14 2025, Chris woke up feeling tired. Having had a busy week at work in sales for a technology reseller, he thought nothing of it and carried on with his routine of walking his dogs before heading to Catalyst for Robin’s Saturday morning metabolic conditioning class.

While Chris didn’t have any “major signs that made (him) think anything was massively wrong”, he said that he “wasn’t really feeling 100%” and was a little breathless, but felt nothing that made him feel unable to participate in his usual workout.

However, around 45 minutes into the hour-long class, Robin said that Chris just “went down”, despite there being “no initial indications that that was going to happen”.

Thankfully, Robin recognised the signs of cardiac arrest – he had dealt with two previous instances, one in his gym and one in a pub – and knew he needed to “act as soon as we could, as fast as we could” to save Chris’s life.

Alongside fellow gym class members Jack and Alice, Robin checked Chris’s vital signs and began CPR, sending other class members out to get the defibrillator, which was installed just outside the gym, and to call 999. Robin continued CPR until the paramedics arrived, and despite Chris seeming to come round at some points, he remained unconscious.

The paramedics were quickly on the scene, and in total Chris received five rounds of shocks from the defibrillator – one administered by Robin, four by the paramedics – and had CPR for around 30 minutes before being airlifted to Bristol Royal Infirmary for further treatment.

There is no doubt that Robin’s quick action saved Chris’s life. According to the British Heart Foundation, there are more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in the UK each year, and the estimated OHCA survival rate in the UK is less than one in 10.

Early CPR and a defibrillator together can more than double the chance of survival, with every minute without treatment reducing the chance of survival by up to 10%.

Anyone can use a defibrillator, as it will give step-by-step voice instructions and usually has diagrams, making the process clear and easy to follow in an emergency, and BHF’s free digital CPR tool, RevivR, teaches CPR in just 15 minutes.

“I would not be here today if I wasn’t in that gym class,” Chris said.

“If I’d have decided that morning to not go in because I was feeling tired and it would have happened anyway, there’s no chance that my girlfriend would be able to do CPR for that length of time, there wouldn’t be a defibrillator within 100 metres… I feel lucky and blessed, really, that I was there.

“I’m just super grateful that I was there and the guys knew what they were doing.”

Chris stayed at Bristol Royal Infirmary for three days, where he learned that the cause of his cardiac arrest was “a rupture of plaque in my artery, and that caused a huge clot, which stopped the blood flow completely to my heart muscle”.

While recovery took time – he’d suffered some bruising to his ribs by the CPR, felt weak and dizzy, and found “it was quite hard mentally to pick myself up and keep going” – his partner Nikki encouraged him to go for short walks outside, building up his activity day by day.

Chris also made some lifestyle changes, most importantly giving up smoking. He wasn’t a regular smoker and would have an occasional cigarette, but he has now given up entirely, drinks less alcohol, and pays better attention to his diet.

Just over a month later, he was back in the gym slowly building up his activity while wearing a heart rate monitor.

He still feels anxiety about going to the gym, particularly around that Saturday morning class, but thanks to the support from Robin and other people at the gym he has regained his confidence and is now training for a huge challenge to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.

On Sunday June 21 this year, Chris will take part in the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton Bike Ride, which follows a 54-mile route from Clapham Common to Brighton Seafront and coincidentally falls just after the anniversary of Chris’s cardiac arrest.

As Chris begins his training, there is only one thing that may get in his way – the arrival of his “miracle baby”, who is expected to arrive in late June.

Visit www.bhf.org.uk/l2b to register for the London to Brighton bike ride.