Got A Second Chance At Life: A Woman In The Gym Suffers A Near Fatal Heart Attack While Working Out!

A woman wants to see defibrillators become mandatory items at all gyms after she almost died from a massive attack while using a rowing machine.

Emily Counter, 21, was working out at Anytime Fitness Noosa on the Sunshine Coast last October when she suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest.

The poise of gym owner Aaron Petterson and member Ben Duffy ensured she lived to tell the tale.

It what was a frantic scene, Mr Duffy and Mr Petterson used the defibrillator and administered CPR to start Ms Counter's heart again.

'Thank God. That thing (defibrillator) is just absolutely brilliant and was able to save her life in the end,' Mr Petterson said.

Ms Counter was taken to Noosa Hospital, where she was in a coma for three days.

Eventually she was diagnosed with Bland-White-Garland Syndrome (BWGS), a rare disease characterised by anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk.

Without surgical repair, most children with BWGS die at infancy. Ms Couter lived 20 years unaware of her heart condition. Posted By PSmooth