Myzone saved my life. I don’t know how I would've survived without it

Richard Moore went into sudden cardiac arrest, three hours into the Blackpool marathon. This is his story.

A passionate runner and Myzone user, this was Richard’s second time running the marathon. He’d just turned 40 and was on track to beat his previous race time until he hit the last 10km and realised something was wrong.

You can't outrun a heart attack

“I thought it was a stitch in my chest and tried to run through it, but I collapsed,” Richard explains. “My heart stopped; I literally flatlined.”

Fortunately for Richard, his wife Emma was spectating by the finish line. A personal trainer and avid Myzone user, she saw Richard fall and ran to help.

Picture: Richard's recovered and is now helping save lives through his Southport Saviours charity.

Hearing the distinctive two beeps the heart rate monitor makes when it doesn’t pick up a reading, Emma knew her husband’s heart had stopped.

In a happy twist of fate, there was a nurse just behind them, who instantly sprang into action.

“She wasn’t even supposed to be running that day," explains Richard. "She’d taken someone else’s place when they feel ill. She saved my life.”

What did Richard find out while in hospital?

Richard was told that a blockage in his artery had caused the heart attack which led to the sudden cardiac arrest. His doctors described it as a ‘one-in-a-thousand’ event.

“I was fit, a regular runner and gym goer,” Richard continues. “In my head I was doing everything right. There was no history of heart trouble in my family either.

"Hearing the doctors say it was just one of those things made it much harder for me to deal with. If they’d told me I had high cholesterol, I could have done something about, but this was out of my control.”

Richard had a stent fitted and five days later was discharged from hospital, which is when life became really challenging.

How Myzone helped ease the anxiety

“In hospital, you’re wired up to all sorts of machines and continually monitored. The moment you leave, you lose that safety net.

"It’s up to you to make the judgement calls from then on. I was terrified.”

Richard may have been physically fit to leave the hospital, but his mental health was suffering.

“I felt I had to be the fun and confident dad for my young kids, but inside I was frightened about everything little thing I was feeling in my body. Was this a stitch or something more serious? It was so hard.”

To ease his anxiety, Richard took to wearing his Myzone during the day to track his heart. “I could see that my heart rate was in the grey and blue zones where it should be and there were no worrying spikes. I started to get my confidence back.”

Exercising again; getting back to good health

Using Myzone as his recovery partner, Richard gently eased his way back into exercise. First by walking to the nearest lamppost, then jogging, then running, and always checking his heart rate.

Over the next 12 months, he clawed his way back to health. Inspired by his experience, he also co-founded a defibrillation charity in the same year.

The Southport Saviours Foundation campaigns for 24 hour accessible defibrillators and first aid training in and around Southport.

“There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year. The overall survival rate is less than one in 10 and in the North West it’s only one in 13.

"My experience made me reevaluate my life and what was really important. For me that was helping others and improving the cardiac recovery rates in my area.”

Back in the gym with a focus on recovery

As part of this ambition and less than 12 month after his cardiac arrest, Richard completed a 10km run in a wedding dress alongside a full wedding party to raise money for his charity.

Since then he has also completed the Liverpool Half Marathon.

“It took me a year to regain most of my fitness. I’d say I’m 80% where I want to be. I’m back at the gym, although not quite up to lifting the same weights I used to, but I’m working on it.

"These days, I’m much more focused on my recovery and I use Myzone to make sure my heart rate gradually reduces to the lower zones.

“Going into cardiac arrest turned my world upside down, but I can honestly say that Myzone saved my life.”

Article originally published February 2024. Updated September 2024.