Doctors said 85 per cent of his body was blood clots
A man who “died for 10 minutes” after suffering a huge heart attack has been reunited with the doctors who ‘brought him back to life’. Matthew Allick, 42, started feeling unwell at the end of August 2023, struggling with shortness of breath and swollen feet.
The dad-of-two from Romford was then rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where he collapsed following a cardiac arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism. The actor and care line officer was declared clinically dead for several minutes and spent three days in a coma, which he says was like “a peaceful sleep”.
Now, more than two years later, Matthew had the chance to return to Hammersmith Hospital and say thank you to the staff who brought him back to life. He said that it was a very emotional day and the biggest shock was discovering how bad his illness was, with doctors revealing that 85 per cent of his body was blood clots.
Matthew said: “I got to meet the staff who essentially brought me back to life and gave me a new lease on life. When I first met the consultant, I hugged him and it was weird, but I realised these hands were the ones that helped me along my journey. It was very emotional.
“Seeing all the nurses and all the people who helped me even through the aftercare team, I didn’t think there were so many people involved. I really felt like a celebrity.
“They told me that 85 per cent of my body was filled with blood clots and they were huge. I was nearly brought to tears because I didn’t know I was that bad. Only five per cent of people survive what I have been through.”
After he “dropped dead” in 2023, doctors used a defibrillator and gave Matthew CPR so aggressively that it caused internal bleeding. He was considered clinically dead for several minutes before medics resuscitated him and placed him into a coma.
Scans revealed he had blood clots the “size of a cricket ball” on his heart and lungs and so surgeons performed several procedures in an attempt to remove them. Having received a tour of the hospital where these traumatic events occurred, Matthew said it was strange how much of it he could remember. He was introduced to a total of around 20 staff, including consultants, nurses, the aftercare team and the surgeon who removed his clots.
Matthew added: “It was really overwhelming to see how many people were involved in saving my life and keeping me alive. The biggest takeaway was how hard the doctors and nurses work. I don’t think it is recognised enough that they actually do save lives.”
Matthew said that after his heart attack he had a tough year with a relationship breakdown, a redundancy, financial troubles and his son suffering a health scare. However, he said that knowing he was brought back to life encouraged him to stay positive and his life has hugely improved since.
The dad secured several acting roles, including as a mental health professional alongside Steve McFadden in an EastEnders episode, and in the Postcode Lottery advert. He also now delivers motivational talks and works with the Blood Foundation to encourage people to donate, since he says his life was saved by seven blood transfusions.
Matthew said: “To be sad all the time after they brought me back to life would be doing them an injustice. I need to make the most of life because of them. My success story is really down to them.
“I was brought back to life for a reason. I use it as a motivation. Everything worked out for the best.
“And seeing the doctors motivated me even more to do well in life because they have given me a second chance. I can’t let them down because of the hard work that they put down.”
Dr Behrad Baharlo, consultant in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, was part of the team that cared for Matthew back in 2023.
He said: “It was wonderful for us to meet Matthew again, to see him doing so well and sharing his story to inspire others to give blood. I remember him very well, caring for him when he was in intensive care at Hammersmith Hospital. It was very unusual and sad to see such a young man have a cardiac arrest.
“I remain so proud of how so many colleagues from different disciplines came together to help him – from our nurses and pharmacists to colleagues in interventional radiology and pulmonary hypertension. It was a huge team effort and a reminder of the power of the NHS.
“We rely on having good levels of blood stocks to treat people like Matthew. It’s brilliant that he’s now trying to help other patients by raising awareness of this.”
NHS Blood and Transplant’s Chief Nursing Officer, Dee Thiruchelvam, added: “Matthew’s story shows just how powerful blood donation can be. Thanks to the generosity of donors, he was able to receive the transfusions that saved his life and return home to his family. Every donation really does make a difference – it gives patients like Matthew a second chance at life.”
