Dylan Thomas Jones' decision to administer the clotbusting thrombolysing drug to the 51-year old, saved his life, doctors say.

Paul, a senior team manager from Llangefni, was at work at the town's Peboc Eastman Industrial Estate when the attack happened on March 13.

"I'd had chest pains on and off for about three years but nothing had been found and I'd got used to them," he says.

"I was OK when I got up that morning but when I went outside for a smoke at about 7.05am the pain in my chest began to get worse."

As he went white in the face, Paul's colleagues, Barry Griffiths and Devlin Roberts, both first-aiders, decided to call an ambulance.

"When the paramedic came he immediately put me at ease and explained that it was a heart attack," says Paul. "He gave me morphine for the pain and he and his colleagues started to carry me downstairs."

As Paul's condition worsened Dylan decided to give him the thromboliser.

"I told him to fire away and then I just remember going to sleep. It was a nice feeling of falling gently," Paul says.

The Welsh Ambulance crews' ability to administer the drug, rather than having to wait until the casualty is in hospital, has dramatically improved the chances for heart attack victims in recent years.

"I remember Mr Walsh really clearly," says Dylan, who insists he is no hero and was only doing his job.

"When I'd arrived he was showing all the signs of MI - a heart attack - and went into ventricular fibrillation as we got him into the ambulance.

"I was working on my own that day in the rapid response vehicle and had to make the decision on my own to administer the drug, rather than being able to talk it over with a colleague. That's why it stands out.

"The result was good, we resuscitated him and he recovered quite quickly.

"When we got to Ysbyty Gwynedd I followed him into the hospital and talked to the consultant in coronary care about the thromboliser."

Five weeks on, Paul is making a good recovery and has just been told he does not need a heart by-pass.

He's given up smoking and is able to drive again. And he's full of praise for Dylan.

"I've talked to several doctors who have told me I've been very lucky and that the paramedic saved my life," he says.

"Dylan has been highly praised by the doctors I've spoken to on the speed at which he administered the thrombiliser.

"I owe my life to him."

The case of Mr Walsh illustrates how Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics are saving the lives of heart attack victims across Wales thanks to their high performance in administering the sophisticated clotbusting drug.

The thrombolysing drug tenekteplase breaks up the blood clot which causes a heart attack and in the 12 months from April 1, 2007, to March 31 this year, Welsh paramedics administered it 205 times within the target golden hour.

That's in 90.2 per cent of cases which is well above the Wales target of 70 per cent and makes the Welsh Ambulance Service one of the top performing ambulance trusts in the UK.

The man responsible for driving the thrombolysis project in Wales is Director of Ambulance Services and Deputy Chief Executive Mike Cassidy who said: "Paramedics are trained to administer life-saving heart drugs to patients through thrombolysis.

"A vital aspect of immediate care of a heart attack victim is the time it takes to get a patient into contact with a trained person able to diagnose a heart attack and administer 'clot-busting' drugs if needed.

"Every minute of delay in receiving thrombolysis could lead to an average loss of 11 days of life."

The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust annual report into thrombolysis shows the Trust has surpassed the Welsh Assembly Government target for treating pre-hospital patients within 60 minutes of the call being made.

Phil Thomas, Welsh Assembly Lead Clinical Advisor on Cardiac Services said: "The report states that 90.2 per cent of patients in Wales who received pre-hospital thrombolysis received this within 60 minutes of calling for help.

"The Welsh Assembly target was 70 per cent, so this is well above target. Giving pre-hospital thrombolysis by paramedics therefore undoubtedly saves lives as we know that for every one minute delay in treating, 11 days survival is lost."

Mr Cassidy added: "It is a fantastic achievement by our paramedics responding to life-threatening cardiac cases to reach this success rate," he said.

"Thrombolysis is probably the most important treatment we will provide
for anybody during a heart attack. It makes a phenomenal reduction in mortality and morbidity rates which means not only do more people survive but they survive to enjoy a better quality of life than previous heart attack survivors."