Ex-Premier League captain who suffered cardiac arrest on pitch urges fans to use hydration breaks to save lives

Former Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer is supporting a British Heart Foundation campaign, urging fans to use the World Cup hydration breaks to potentially help save lives.

Launching its new campaign, the BHF is using the hydration breaks to highlight a stark reality: every three minutes, someone in the UK dies from cardiovascular disease.

Over the course of a 90-minute football match, around 30 lives are lost to cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack and stroke – more than in England's 26-man World Cup squad. Across the entire 39-day tournament, around 19,000 people in the UK are likely to die from cardiovascular disease, many of them prematurely.

And with the introduction of two three-minute stoppages at this World Cup, the BHF is encouraging fans to use this time to do something that could help save lives: donate to the charity and support the research giving hope to millions of families worldwide.

Through social media videos and alternative commentary, BHF ambassadors Lockyer and Charlie Wyke are calling on everyone watching the World Cup to transform those "three minutes to kill" into three minutes that could help save lives by donating to the BHF.

Three minutes to save a life

Lockyer knows better than most how precious every minute can be. After suffering a cardiac arrest during a Premier League game for Luton in December 2023 and being fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the former Wales international went on to become a British Heart Foundation ambassador, using his story to help raise awareness of cardiovascular disease.

He said: “Everyone watches these hydration breaks and thinks ‘three minutes to kill’, but every three minutes, someone in the UK dies from cardiovascular disease.

“That is not dead time, it is time we can use to make a difference by donating to the BHF.”

Wyke, 33, agrees, having suffered cardiac arrest during training for Wigan in 2021. Thankfully his life was saved because those around him knew CPR and he was fitted with an ICD.

The Carlisle United captain said: “Football has shown us that cardiovascular disease doesn’t discriminate. It can affect anyone at any age, whether you’re on the pitch, in the stands or watching at home.

“More than eight million people in the UK are living with cardiovascular disease, and behind every number is a family hoping for extra time.

“In football, we often talk about fine margins. These three-minute hydration breaks are a chance to turn dead time into time that helps save lives by donating to the BHF.”

The campaign also highlights the pioneering research funded by BHF that is helping to transform the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. This includes groundbreaking work from Professor Charalambos Antoniades at the University of Oxford, who has developed CaRi-Heart®, an artificial intelligence tool that can help predict someone’s risk of having a heart attack up to 10 years before it happens.

The technology uses AI to detect inflammation around the coronary arteries from CT scans and provide a personalised risk score, helping doctors identify people who may benefit from preventative treatment years before a heart attack strikes,

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “Every three minutes, another family in the UK loses someone they love to cardiovascular disease. Through Three Minutes to Kill, we’re turning a pause in play into a moment that could help save lives.

“Football has an incredible power to bring people together, and we’re asking fans to use these three-minute breaks to donate to the BHF. Their support could help fund the next generation of lifesaving cardiovascular research, from pioneering work using artificial intelligence to better predict heart attacks, to new treatments and technologies that is transforming the lives of people living with cardiovascular disease in the UK today.

“So, when the game pauses, don’t just wait for play to restart — donate to the British Heart Foundation. In just three minutes, football fans can help fund the breakthroughs that keep more hearts beating and give more people that precious time together.”

BHF is encouraging supporters to use the three-minute hydration breaks to donate from £3 and help fund the next generation of lifesaving cardiovascular research.

Every three minutes, someone in the UK dies from cardiovascular disease. Use the next three-minute hydration break to donate to the BHF and help fund lifesaving research that keeps more hearts beating for longer. Visit bhf.org.uk/3minutes