Logans back Bernard Gallacher Defibrillator Campaign

Leading sports broadcaster Gabby Logan and former Scottish rugby international Kenny Logan are using their annual charity golf event to back Bernard Gallacher’s nationwide campaign to install life-saving defibrillators in every golf club in the UK.

The couple’s Logan Classic will take place at Gleneagles on July 21-22 and will raise valuable funds for the Bernard Gallacher Defibrillator Campaign which was set up by the three-time Ryder Cup captain and his wife Lesley following his near fatal sudden cardiac arrest last year.

Only swift medical intervention and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) at the Aberdeen hotel where he was on a speaking engagement saved his life and the Gallachers have made it a mission to ensure every golf club in the UK has an AED.

The Bernard Gallacher defibrillator campaign (www.defibssaavelives.org) is being run in conjunction with Arrhythmia Alliance, the UK’s leading heart rhythm charity, and with support from the PGA, the campaign seeks to increase public awareness of the risks of sudden cardiac arrest across all ages and to help save lives through the promotion, purchase and placement of defibrillators in golf clubs across the UK.

The Gallachers’ campaign has special poignancy for the Logans as Gabby tragically lost her brother Dan at the age of just 15 when he died from sudden cardiac arrest linked to the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy while playing football in the garden.

Defibrillators can save lives in such instances and while sadly the circumstances of Daniel’s death cannot be changed, the Logans, who have previously generated vital funds for Sparks and Great Ormond Street Hospital, are hoping to help Bernard’s goal to get more defibrillators into public places with an aim to increase survival rates.

AEDs do not require training and can be used by anyone to shock a person’s heart back into normal rhythm if they suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. They increase the chance of someone surviving from nine percent to 50 per cent when compared to the use of CPR alone.

The Logan Classic will see 52 players battle it out over Gleneagles’ Ryder Cup PGA Centenary course and King’s course and hopes are high of raising thousands of pounds with the backing of tournament sponsors such as Taylor Made, Lyle and Scott, British Airways and TAG Heuer.