Heart health, heart help
St John WA and the Heart Foundation have partnered to help Western Australians protect their heart health and feel confident helping in a cardiac emergency.
This Shocktober, learn how everyday choices can reduce your risk of heart disease and how CPR and an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) can help save a life.
Look after your heart
Many heart disease risk factors can be managed through positive lifestyle changes and regular health checks.
You can support your heart by:
- Eating a heart-healthy diet, including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, healthy proteins and unsaturated fats.
- Moving regularly and sitting less.
- Not smoking or getting support to quit.
- Knowing and managing your blood pressure and cholesterol.
- Asking your Doctor about a Heart Health Check if you're 45 or older, or 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Everyday changes can support a healthier heart.
Know what to do in a cardiac arrest
A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time. The person will usually be unconscious and not breathing normally.
Remember: Call. Push. Shock.
1. Call Triple Zero (000) immediately. The Triple Zero calltaker will stay on the line and guide you until help arrives.
2. Push hard and fast in the centre of the chest. Keep going until help arrives or an AED is ready.
3. Shock using an AED. Turn it on and follow the voice prompts. AEDs guide you step by step and will only deliver a shock when needed.
Your actions could help keep someone alive until an ambulance arrives.
Get involved this Shocktober
Help make your workplace, community or organisation more heart-ready.
Host a morning tea or event
Use our customisd poster to bring your community together for a heart-healthy event covering health prevention and emergency response information. If you are interested in St John WA attending your organisation's event, please email giving@stjohnwa.com.au
Share the resources
Share these videos, tools and key messages with your team, family, friends and community.
Become a lifesaver
Learn first aid, keep your CPR skills current, become a Community First Responder or make sure your AED is accessible and registered.
Resources to support a healthier heart
Heart health
Explore practical tools, information and videos.
Downloadable Resources
Heart-Healthy Dinner Plans Poster
Heart Age Calculator Poster
Heart Foundation Walking Poster
Building Blocks Heart health 6pp DL
Heart help
Explore first aid tips, emergency response information and videos.
Downloadable Resources
St John Heart Foundation Event Editable Poster
St John DRSABCD Poster One
St John DRSABCD Poster Two
St John First Responder App Poster
St John Defib Checklist
Stories of the heart
Second chance at life for Nedlands man after gym cardiac arrest
Shaun Hemberg’s birthday started like any other – with a run to his local gym and a workout to kick start his day.
It was just after 5am on February 16 at Anytime Fitness in Nedlands, with only the sounds of gym equipment and a handful of early risers fitting in a workout before dawn.
59-year-old Shaun was in the basement preparing to lift weights when he suddenly collapsed.
With no signs of life and his face turning blue, fellow gymgoer and St John WA’s Chief Preventative Officer, Megan O’Donnell, raced to his aid.
READ MORE
A remarkable history, a life-saving revolution, and how to save a life
Not long ago, if someone suffered a sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital, there was very little anyone could do.
Today, thanks to Automated External Defibrillators -AEDs – ordinary people save lives every day.
The story of the AED is one of the most remarkable advances in modern emergency care.
‘I knew I had to do CPR’: Hero teen who saved a boy’s life says he would do it again
A Perth teenager has been recognised by St John WA for his extraordinary actions that helped save the life of another boy in December last year.
Dylan Bennet was just 17 and playing basketball with a group of other teens in Perth when one of the players collapsed.
Recognising the signs of cardiac arrest immediately, Dylan wasted no time in dialling Triple Zero (000) and starting CPR.
READ MORE
Want to get involved?
