A Swedish man has shared the harrowing moment he realized his pregnant girlfriend was having a heart attack and how quick thinking and CPR saved her life. Magnus Kviske, 49, was reading in bed with his partner, Maja, 36, when she suddenly fell asleep. Moments later, he became alarmed by her strange noises and labored breathing.
“I knew something was wrong, I just felt it,” Magnus explained. Trusting his instincts, he quickly grabbed Maja’s phone and dialed emergency services. The operator instructed him to begin CPR, which he performed for 11 minutes while waiting for help. Magnus described the terrifying moments, saying, “I was like a machine with only one goal: keeping Maja alive. But as time passed, I became more and more worried”, via the Mirror.
As Magnus worked to save her, he “cried and called” for Maja to wake up, fearing the worst for both her and their unborn child. He shared that the operator kept him calm, counting out loud and guiding him through the process until the ambulance arrived. “Eventually, the care team arrived and people poured into the apartment. They took over and ran the defibrillator on her. That’s when I broke down, convinced I had lost my love and our baby.”
To his immense relief, a medic soon approached him with good news: Maja was breathing again and had a pulse. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors confirmed she had suffered a heart attack. Magnus recalled, “As the days went by, she started to wake up, but would fall straight back asleep. I worried that her body might be damaged, and maybe she’d never be herself again.”
But there was a moment of joy when Maja fully woke up and made eye contact with him. “She looked at me, really looked at me. It was the best moment of my life.”
Maja spent 11 days in the cardiac intensive care unit, where she had an ICD (a pacemaker) implanted to regulate her heart rhythm. Doctors also performed an early ultrasound to check on the baby. Magnus expressed his relief, saying, “We were so happy when we saw the baby’s little heart beating. It was the happiest moment despite everything.”
Reflecting on the experience, Magnus shared his fears of returning home, but he praised Maja for her strength throughout their ordeal. “Maja has been a rock in all of this. She is my hero.”
Their baby is due in November, and Magnus emphasized the importance of CPR, saying, “It saves lives, and we are living proof of that.”