A teenage athlete who suffered a heart attack was today hailed a “miracle” after he “died” for 15 minutes.

County tennis champion James Doherty collapsed suddenly during training and his heart stopped beating.

His family feared the 13-year-old, from Codicote, Hertfordshire, would not recover after his lips turned blue. The odds of surviving a cardiac arrest are remote when the heart stops for more than 10 minutes.

But paramedics brought James back to life with emergency resuscitation. Doctors at London's Great Ormond Street hospital who also treated James described his recovery as “miraculous”.

He is believed to be one of the youngest people in the UK to survive a heart attack. His mother Sarah, 48, today described the moment her son came back to life. The early years administrator at Hertfordshire county council said: “I asked him to squeeze my hand and it was all wet and clammy but amazingly he responded. It was such a fantastic moment. I really thought I'd lost him.”
James and his parents praised the actions of two quick-thinking bystanders who were at the Hazelwood Tennis Academy in Enfield when he collapsed last month.

Father-of-three Alan Percy, 45, rushed over to help and worked to bring the lifeless teenager around, assisted by fitness trainer Karen Browne.

Mr Percy said: “I have no proper first aid training but instinct took over and I started breathing air into him. It was very traumatic and half way through I could see that he was dead. I will never forget that moment.”

Paramedics gave James a 50/50 chance of survival after using a defibrillator to kick-start his heart. An ambulance took him to Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield where doctors and nurses were on hand to stabilise him.

Mrs Doherty, who also has two daughters, said: “Words cannot express our feelings towards Alan and Karen. For me, it's almost like James now has two birthdays — March and September.”

James is now recovering at home. Tests have revealed he suffers from a rare hereditary disorder of the heart's electrical system known as Long QT syndrome, which cannot be identified after a person has died.

James can no longer take part in competitive sport and will have to take medication for the
rest of his life.

About eight fit and healthy young people die each week from undiagnosed cardiac problems. Nurse Diane Barlow at Great Ormond Street said James was “exceptionally lucky” to have survived.

Ms Barlow, a specialist in inherited cardiovascular disease, said: “James is exceptionally lucky to have survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.”

In the majority of Long QT patients, medical management with a drug called a beta blocker is very effective, she added.

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