Overview
- Rhys Edwards, 35, suffered a cardiac arrest on a work trip to New York after a temporary pacemaker was accidentally disconnected.
- Doctors performed emergency transvenous pacing via the right jugular vein, later implanting a permanent pacemaker to stabilise him.
- Tests identified a rare Coxsackie virus, linked to hand, foot and mouth disease, as the cause of his cardiac crisis.
- He endured a lengthy recovery with severe anxiety and panic attacks, crediting the British Heart Foundation nurse helpline for vital support.
- Nearly four years on, his pacemaker has been removed and he is monitored by an implantable loop recorder, as he shares his story in BHF Cymru’s 65th-anniversary campaign that includes a red bench unveiled in Penarth’s Alexandra Park.