Snoring is such a common occurrence that most spouses would think nothing of it, but its persistence one night sparked a wife’s concern.
After growing frustrated with her husband’s loud snoring, Naomi Qureshi tried waking Mason Qureshi to no avail before realizing he was unconscious. Paramedics rushed Mason to a nearby hospital, only for him to die nine times over the course of 10 hours and live to tell the tale. The terrifying incident occurred in Solihull, West Midlands, England, on the morning of March 26.
The cause was attributed to nine cardiac arrests, but doctors could not understand why Mason’s heart rate skyrocketed, the Independent reported.
Naomi said her 54-year-old husband, who works as a lawyer, was always in “top shape,” as he regularly worked out and played tennis twice a week.
Mason’s undiagnosed heart condition did not present itself as a problem until the summer of 2021 when he started experiencing “fluttering” in his heart; however, doctors told him he was healthy.
“Out of the blue, his heart was racing and fluttering. It was happening randomly,” Naomi said. “But after doing tests, they told us he was healthy and we had nothing to worry about.”
In February, a 24-hour electrocardiogram test indicated Mason had a type of arrhythmia known as an ectopic heartbeat, but doctors again insisted he was a healthy man.
“We were so worried, but when the tests came back we were reassured that Mason was doing all right,” Naomi said. “They said he was better than fine, that he was completely healthy.”
The lack of treatment, however, led to Mason’s heart giving out a month later.
Do you know how to perform CPR?
“Mason suddenly started making snoring noises, which I shrugged off until they persisted and I told him to stop it,” Naomi recalled. “But when I turned around, his eyes were closed and he was unconscious.”
When paramedics arrived, Mason’s heart rate rose to 315 bpm. A normal resting heart rate ranges between 60 and 100 bpm, according to the British Heart Foundation.
“I thought he was going to die. I was absolutely terrified, I didn’t want to lose him,” Naomi said. “We had two girls and they didn’t want to lose their daddy.”
Doctors were certain he was not going to make it, she said.
“His heart rate was so high they didn’t expect him to make it through the day.”
It was lucky for him and his family that he did, though, despite the circumstances. Naomi called her husband’s recovery an “absolute miracle” in the end.
Mason also said he was glad to be alive.
“My daughter always says to me, ‘My daddy, my superhero,’ which makes me happy,” he said. “I have the most supportive family and being with them each day is the best place for me.”
Since then, Naomi has been advocating that everyone learn how to successfully administer CPR so that cardiac patients can at least have a surviving chance outside the hospital.
“We don’t know why this happened to Mason, so we don’t know how to predict it happening again,” she said. “CPR is something we should teach everywhere because it’s so simple and it can make the difference between living or dying.”
