Would You Know What To Do If Someone’s Heart Suddenly Stopped?

When a person’s heart suddenly stops, time is crucial. Would you know what to do if someone’s heart suddenly stopped and you were the only other person around?

Heart of the Nation will be running two education sessions at the CWA Hall at 7 Lovell Street on Monday, November 11 from 4 pm to 5:30 pm and 6 pm to 7:30 pm.

These free community education sessions will be led by original Yellow Wiggle and sudden cardiac arrest survivor Greg Page, who will show you how to use Automated Emergency Defibrillators (AEDs) to render assistance when needed.

Bright yellow cabinets have been popping up around Young and the Central West.

These cabinets are AEDs that can be used by the public in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest emergency.

The 60 to 90 minute education sessions will equip you with the skills you need to CALL, PUSH, SHOCK with confidence.

Local pharmacist David Hamblin, who has an AED in store, welcomed the news that Young would have more AEDs at its disposal.

“It’s a simple fact - the more you have, the more lives you save,” Mr Hamblin said.

He said that Kerry Packer was one person who had been saved by the presence of a defibrillator and when he said it was good that all Australian ambulances were equipped with the lifesaving equipment, was told that they weren’t. “Why the hell not” was his reply.

He went on to match dollar for dollar the money required to get those machines into ambulances around the country.

Mr Hamblin said that you could fix most things with money, not everything, but most things.

“In America there’s a defibrillator on every corner and I don’t know the statistical survival rate but it is far superior to Australia,” Mr Hamblin said.

“It (the AED) tells you what to do. You can’t get it wrong. It’s like doing an exam with the answers, you just have to transfer them over.”

Parts of the Central West have extremely high rates of cardiac arrest, but very low rates of bystander CPR, meaning that residents are at greater risk of mortality rates when their heart suddenly stops.

Visit https://www.heartofthenation.com.au/centralwest to reserve your place at one of the sessions.

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• Health & Wellness