Police officers have revealed that they saved a woman’s life last week after she suffered a medical emergency near Thruxton.

Officers were called to a location near Thruxton Airfield on Wednesday, November 18 around 2-3pm following reports of a concern for welfare that they had received.

There, they found a woman in her 40s who required assistance from the two officers. They performed CPR on the woman, which officers said saved her life.

She was subsequently transferred to the ambulance service for further treatment, with police having no further involvement.

Inspector Chris Taylor from Andover’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “I spoke to 2 of our team who successfully performed CPR saving a woman’s life last week. We're so proud of them!”

CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is generally performed on those who are suffering from a cardiac arrest, where the heart stops pumping blood around the body. It differs from a heart attack, which is caused by the circulation of blood being blocked, with victims generally remaining conscious. It can develop into a cardiac arrest if not treated.

Cardiac arrests cause victims to fall unconscious and stop breathing, with death occurring shortly afterwards unless action is taken. CPR aims to support the body and provide circulation until an ambulance can arrive.

If you see someone who is suffering from a cardiac arrest, immediately call 999. CPR should then follow if the individual is unconscious and not breathing normally, or at all.

Using the heel of your hand, interlocked with the other, chest compressions should be performed at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute until the ambulance arrives, or the individual begins to recover. Rescue breaths usually accompany this, but advice from the British Heart Foundation says that they are not currently advised due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For more information on CPR, please visit: https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/how-to-do-cpr