Graham Harper had just turned 40 and, with a young family and new job, life couldn’t have been better. But a routine health check, organised by his new employer, changed his life forever when the doctor asked, ‘Are you having a heart attack, Mr Harper?’

An unusual ECG pattern had alerted the doctor to an underlying heart condition and he immediately referred Graham to Barts Heart Centre for more tests – during which Graham actually died, and his consultant performed CPR.

Graham’s diagnosis came just in time, and after a week recovering in hospital, a stent was implanted to widen and strengthen one of his coronary arteries and then a subcutaneous defribrillator (S-ICD) to protect him against sudden cardiac arrest by producing an electric shock to reset the heart’s normal rhythm.

As his condition in inherited, Graham’s family have to be tested annually until doctors are sure they are clear or not. Graham’s ICD has probably saved more than his own life!