A growing number of Victorians are ready to help save lives this Restart a Heart Day thanks to Ambulance Victoria's (AV) Heart Safe Communities Program.
Restart a Heart Day is a global initiative on October 16 that aims to raise awareness and educate the community about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).
Call Push Shock training in Monbulk.
AV's Heart Safe Communities program, a joint initiative with the Heart Foundation, works to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in Victorian towns by teaching community members how to perform CPR and use an AED.
Twelve Victorian towns recently graduated from the program, with another 12 signing on to complete the program over the next year.
AV Regional Director Ross Salathiel said the Heart Safe Communities program had been proven to make a life-saving difference in regional areas.
"The program sees locals engage in CPR and AED training sessions, and new AEDs installed in key public areas," Mr Salathiel said.
"This gives community members the training and understanding of the critical role they can play when someone in their area suffers a cardiac arrest."
Monbulk HSC Lead Jess Drummond at a Call Push Shock session.
Every day, around 21 Victorians have a cardiac arrest and only one in 10 survive.
Bystander intervention has the greatest impact.
When a patient receives CPR and a shock from an AED before paramedics arrive, their chance of survival more than doubles.
Mr Salathiel said Restart a Heart Day falls within AV's month-long Shocktober campaign which highlights the importance of knowing the three simple steps to save a life - Call (call Triple Zero 000), Push (perform CPR), Shock (use an AED).
"Restart a Heart Day, Shocktober and the Heart Safe Communities program all have the same goal, to help more Victorians go home to their loved ones by surviving cardiac arrest," he said.
"To the communities who have just signed up, it is my hope at the end of the program that they will know you don't have to be a paramedic or a healthcare worker to save a life - anyone can by following the three simple steps Call, Push, Shock."
Monbulk recently graduated as a Heart Safe Community.
There are currently 42 Heart Safe Communities across Victoria.
In the past year, 3,301 community members learnt CPR and how to use an AED and 55 new AEDs were installed as part of the initiative.
