Our partner: Heart of the Nation

Heart Foundation and Heart of the Nation have joined forces to help improve survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests

Every day, approximately 70 people living in Australia experience a cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest does not discriminate and can happen to any of us at any time. With almost 80% of these events happening at home, greater access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in residential areas will give more people a chance of survival.

About Heart of the Nation

Heart of the Nation was founded in 2020 by Greg Page, the original Yellow Wiggle, following his own life-threatening experience with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) during a performance. Saved by the quick action of bystanders using CPR and an automated external defibrillator, Greg was inspired to raise awareness and improve access to AEDs across Australia. Their aim is to ensure more individuals are equipped with the knowledge and tools to act in cardiac arrest events, transforming bystanders into responders to Keep the Beat Going.

A united effort to help save lives

Improving access to life-saving AEDs is an important part of Heart of the Nation’s work. Partnering with the Heart Foundation, this collaboration focuses on placing AEDs in rural and semi-rural areas and educating the public about their locations. Interactive community sessions will also take place to boost confidence in responding to cardiac arrests before paramedics arrive. The partnership seeks to empower more bystanders to perform CPR, potentially saving many of the 23,000 lives lost annually to sudden cardiac arrest.

Through this partnership, both organisations hope to:

• Advocate for AED and CPR awareness and training.
• Bolster community and government action in relation to CPR and AED access and use.
• Improve the survival rate from out of hospital cardiac arrests in Australia.

Cardiac arrest in Australia

What is cardiac arrest?

A cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops beating, usually due to an electrical problem with the heart. During a cardiac arrest, there is a problem with the signals that tell the heart when and how to contract. This means that it either stops beating or isn’t beating enough to get your blood moving around your body as it should be. A cardiac arrest is a medical emergency, and a person suffering a cardiac arrest will be unresponsive and not breathing (or not breathing normally).

The importance of bystander support

Bystander administered defibrillation can double a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. But in Australia, just under 40% of cardiac arrests had a bystander perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and only about 2% had an AED used. Heart of the Nation’s mission is to empower every Australian to understand that any attempt at resuscitation is better than none. Ensuring Australians are equipped with the knowledge and tools to act in cardiac emergencies could turn bystanders into lifesavers and foster a community where every individual is empowered to act in an emergency.

The Heart Foundation is incredibly grateful for this partnership and excited to work with the Heart of the Nation team to lead the charge and help save more lives from cardiac arrest.

To find out more about our partnership, read our media release.