A North East man who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and was placed in a medically induced coma said he wouldn't have survived without the help of Great North Air Ambulance.

Carl Griffiths, 29, from Middlesbrough, was visiting his partner Josh's auntie in Ormesby on April 18 2023, when he had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Emergency services were called, and both the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) responded.

Mr Griffiths said: "I was out for 40 minutes. I received seven minutes of CPR from Josh, who at the time was a student nurse but has since qualified.

"I then received several shocks from a defibrillator from the paramedic team.

"The team from GNAAS also drilled through my knee to inject adrenaline into my bone marrow due to them not being able to get access from a vein.

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Mr Griffiths was put into a medically induced coma by GNAAS’ team before being transported to James Cook University Hospital in a NEAS ambulance, where he stayed for 14 days.

He said: "I underwent tests to see if there was a cause for the out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest but the only thing they found was a mitral valve prolapse which has a small chance of causing a cardiac arrest.

"I had a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator fitted on May 2 and was released from hospital the same day."

Mr Griffiths, who is a One Stop manager, returned to work just 10 days after leaving hospital and he’s since built his strength back up to almost how it was before.

More than a year since his incident, Mr Griffiths has praised the emergency services teams who helped him.

He said: "I wouldn't have survived without a single member of the team who saved my life that day but due to the quick arrival time of GNAAS and the equipment they carry they were able to get me back into a normal heart rhythm which I think was down to the trial of the injection through my knee and the experience and training the team have."