Ex-Premier League star, Neil “Razor” Ruddock, reveals how he clinically died on the surgery table as his heart had stopped.
The former Southampton, Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Swindon player was plunged into the life-or-death scenario after doctors found his heart was beating twice as fast as it should have been.

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The 52-year-old was told that he had to have a pacemaker fitted but for that to happen, he would need an operation to have his heart “zapped” a few times.
However, his heart ended up stopping during the procedure and he was “technically dead for several seconds”.
Ruddock was told he needed the surgery after years of going on booze-fuelled benders.
Ex-Premier League star reveals how he died to the Daily Star: “At my worst I was crazy. I was doing three or four bottles of wine a day, easy-peasy, plus spirits, beers, cocktails.
“Before I could get my pacemaker I had to have my heart zapped to slow it down.
“They zap it seven times. If your heartbeat doesn’t return to normal after seven times, you’re in trouble.
“Mine came back the third time they did it – but it stopped and I was technically dead for several seconds.”
Ruddock had the procedure after doctors found that his resting heart rate was at least 130 beats per minute – when it should have been around 60 or 70.
He said: “They also found out my heart had been stopping for up to seven seconds every night.
“Just going up the stairs it must have been going at 140 or 150 beats a minute – that’s a workout rate. It’s gone back to 60, 70 or 80 beats now when resting.”
He found out how bad he was in do to a health check-up while filming Harry Heroes.
There was one time in the program which saw Ruddock arguing with Paul Merson, who told his pal his drinking was “out of control”.
“Harry’s Heroes sent me to a heart surgeon to check everything was alright because I was getting dizzy just running upstairs,” he said.
“I thought, ‘Oh, no, it could be brain trauma after heading too many footballs’. But they found it was from my heart beating too fast, so that was a big wake-up call.”
After the op, Ruddock was sent straight to have the pacemaker fitted.
Here he is with ex-England professionals taking on schoolboys whilst filiming for Harry’s Heroes…
He said: “You’re awake when they fit it. They numbed my heart area then they did it – it was the worst pain of my life.
“I could see the surgeon pushing it in and it was quite daunting. I was on my own, but I had a great German surgeon, who had a great sense of humour and put some disco music on to help me.
“It hurts so much and sometimes it doesn’t take. I was just wanting it to work because I didn’t want to go through that pain again.
“The doctors said, ‘We got you just in time’. I’m just glad I didn’t have dementia from heading too many balls.”
Ruddock said on his wife and kids: “I knew I’d be fine – I’ve got quite a happy-go-lucky attitude and I’m a brave boy. Nothing really gets me down.”
Now, he’s looking forward to getting back into attending after-dinner speaking, which is organised through his agent Tony Clarke’s Soccer Speaker business.
“For the last 10 years the buzz of doing those speeches has replaced the buzz of winning a football game – I love it,” he said.
“I want to keep doing it, and I want a long life.
“And I’ve still got a great life ahead of me – a lovely wife and lovely kids.”

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