Glenn Hoddle "playing extra-time" as legend leads calls to learn CPR skills

01 February 2024 , 00:01

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Hoddle collapsed while filming for BT Sport in 2018 on his 61st birthday (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Older Brits have been warned to learn lifesaving CPR skills as new data shows more than half of over-40s have no idea what to do in a cardiac emergency.

It comes as former England manager Glenn Hoddle reveals he still feels like he is "playing extra time" nearly six years after he survived a cardiac arrest in a TV studio because a colleague performed CPR. National polling for the British Heart Foundation shows Gen Z aged 16 to 26 are much more likely to have learned to perform CPR at 67 per cent. This compared to 52per cent of Gen X aged 43 to 58, and 51 per cent of baby boomers aged 59 to 77.

Spurs and England legend Glenn said: "Every second is a precious second now, because I was gone. If it wasn't for CPR I wouldn't be sitting here today, to be quite honest. I owe my life to somebody who did CPR.”

Glenn collapsed while filming for BT Sport in 2018 on his 61st birthday and went on to have a quadruple heart bypass. He has teamed up with Well Pharmacy to launch the Blood Pressure United campaign to tackle hypertension after the deaths of two fans and 26 medical emergencies in football crowds in just over two years.

Glenn added: "Life is very precious, and I found that out in a very, very dramatic way. Life has always been precious, but even more so now. I feel as if in football terminology, I call it my extra time. I'm playing extra time at the moment and long may that continue - I just hope it doesn't go to penalties!"

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Hoddle has joined calls for older people to learn CPR skills (PA)

The UK sees more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year and less than one in ten people survive. The nationally representative BHF survey of 2,000 over-16s showed overall 43 per cent have never learnt CPR - or 23 million people in the adult population.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, BHF chief executive, said: “Every moment matters when someone has a cardiac arrest, and being able to step in and perform CPR could be the difference between life and death.” Four out of five out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in the home so you are most likely to perform CPR on a loved one.

The BHF polling suggests people without lifesaving skills tend to live together. Among those who said they did not know CPR, 58% said no-one else in their household did either. Performing quick CPR and defibrillation in the event of a cardiac arrest can be the difference between life and death as it more than doubles survival chances.

National polling for the British Heart Foundation shows Gen Z aged 16 to 26 are much more likely to have learned to perform CPR at 67 per cent

The British Heart Foundation says its free online training tool RevivR can teach CPR and the correct steps of defibrillator use in just 15 minutes. Dr Grifiths added: “Not enough of us are confident and ready to use this skill. With our tool RevivR, all you need to learn how to save a life is a spare 15 minutes, a phone and a cushion. Give it a try during your next coffee or lunch break – it could help you save a life, a loved one.”

Middle-aged men are among the most likely group to have untreated high blood pressure (hypertension), according to NHS England data. Glenn said: "That's the key to it all - it can creep up on you if you don't keep ahead of it. It's about prevention really.

"Since I had my cardiac arrest, I've got a blood pressure monitor at home that we look at every couple of weeks. But unless you're going to a doctor, or you have to go to A&E or into hospital, you never really have it done, do you?

"Blood pressure is a warning sign, whether it's too high or too low, it's a warning sign that can prevent so much. And there's nothing to be scared of, there's no blood being taken, it's just a blood pressure reading that can be done in a minute."

As well as regularly monitoring his own blood pressure Hoddle said he is mindful of his diet. He also takes medication for atrial fibrillation and statins, which are used to treat high cholesterol. "But at the moment, everything is tickety-boo, thankfully," he added. "Only when Tottenham play does my blood pressure go up too high!"

Visit bhf.org.uk/revivr to try the RevivR tool and learn CPR in 15 minutes.

Martin Bagot