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Big names, big hearts, big stories. The Heart
Foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year is back this
month with some well-known New Zealanders sharing their
heart stories to highlight the Big Heart Appeal and the
importance of investment in heart research to save
lives.
“With heart disease claiming the life of one
New Zealander every 90 minutes, it’s vital that we invest
in life-saving research to help keep families together for
longer,” says Dr Gerry Devlin, Medical Director at the
Heart Foundation. “Through the support of donations,
we’re able to invest in heart research and overseas
fellowships for cardiologists, who are able to train at some
of the best hospitals in the world and bring back those
skills and new treatments to save lives here.”
Heart
disease can affect anyone, anywhere, at any time. That’s
why the Heart Foundation is calling for New Zealanders to
donate whatever they can towards funding heart research
during the month of February either online (heartfoundation.org.nz/big-heart-appeal)
or through the thousands of Big Heart Appeal street
collectors across New Zealand on Friday 24 and Saturday 25
February.
Former All Blacks and Warriors doctor, Dr
John Mayhew, was completing a workout at his local gym five
years ago when he suffered a cardiac arrest, a serious heart
event that occurs when the heart stops pumping blood around
the body.
“I don’t remember anything, but I hear
they ripped off my shirt on the floor of the gym and
successfully resuscitated me,” says Dr Mayhew. “I woke
up after a three-day spell in Intensive Care on a ventilator
and still feel lucky that there were people around to help
and I have no neurological problems.”
He says
incredible advancements have been made in treating heart
disease. “We are lucky these days to have a wide range of
treatments and medications for heart disease, all of which
are helping New Zealanders to live longer and healthier
lives,” he says.
Award-winning singer and
entertainer, Suzanne Prentice, believes if it had not been
for the quick actions of her husband and hospital staff she
may not have survived a heart attack in 2022.
“I had
just got home from a meeting and had dinner as usual when
suddenly I began having pain in my neck and back,” Suzanne
says. “All of a sudden the pain became very intense, and I
was on the floor.”
Her husband called an ambulance
immediately and she was taken to Southland
Hospital.
“Once I was at the hospital, in the early
hours of the morning I went into cardiac arrest, and before
I knew it, I was heading for Dunedin.”
Suzanne
received helpful advice from the Heart Foundation around
lifestyle changes to look after herself and successfully
manage her heart condition, inherited from both her
parents.
“I was extremely lucky,” she says. “It
could have gone either way, but I have been given a second
chance for which I’ll be eternally grateful. A cardiac
arrest certainly makes you look at life
differently.”
Improvements in management of conditions
such as heart failure, coronary artery disease and heart
rhythm disorders are examples of some of the advances that
have been made to improve heart health outcomes for New
Zealanders, and they wouldn’t be possible without the
generous public donations the Heart Foundation has
received.
“I want to help continue these incredible
advances and enable the researchers, innovators, doctors and
nurses to keep improving heart health for New Zealanders and
their families,” she says.
Adventure fisherman,
entrepreneur and father of three, Andrew Hill, suffered the
first of three heart attacks at 40 years old.
“I was
lying in bed, feeling like my whole chest was closing up and
I could barely breathe,” Andrew recalls.
Five years
after his first heart attack, Andrew was out on his jet ski
when he experienced a similar discomfort in his
chest.
“I was all alone, and that was quite
scary,” he says. “I rode home without catching any fish,
which isn’t normal for me.”
After making it safely
off the water, Andrew took himself back to hospital and had
stents put in.
Andrew took on all the advice he
received after his first two heart attacks and was very
committed to taking his medication and living a healthy
lifestyle. But despite this, three years after his second
heart attack and two weeks before Christmas 2019, Andrew’s
shortness of breath returned. He had experienced another
heart attack. This time he needed double bypass
surgery.
“I have huge respect for the New Zealand
cardiologists and heart surgeons who are saving lives and
giving those with heart conditions a better quality of
life.”
DJ, dancer and choreographer, Lance Savali,
lives with a heart condition called supraventricular
tachycardia or SVT, which he says has given him his fair
share of scary moments on stage.
“My heartbeat is
way faster than a normal heart,” says Lance. “This is
not easy to manage when you’re dancing up a storm on
stage.”
Keyhole surgery has helped Lance maintain
his active lifestyle and a good understanding of his
condition helps him to manage it.
Now he wants to give
back and support the Heart Foundation, his charity of choice
for the new season of Treasure Island: Fans vs Faves,
and encourage New Zealanders to support the Big Heart
Appeal.
To donate, look out for the Heart Foundation
Big Heart Appeal street collectors on Friday 24 and Saturday
25 February. Or to donate online anytime, please visit heartfoundation.org.nz/big-heart-appeal.
Thank you for your generosity in helping save
lives.
Ends
Heart disease at a
glance:
- Heart disease is New Zealand’s single
biggest killer, claiming the lives of more than 6,500 New
Zealanders every year – that’s one person every 90
minutes. - More than 175,000 New Zealanders are
currently living with heart disease. - The Heart
Foundation funds cutting-edge research and specialist
training for cardiologists, while our education and
prevention programmes address heart disease head-on in the
community. - The Heart Foundation is New Zealand’s
heart charity that is leading the fight against heart
disease. - Since 1968, it has funded more than $85
million in research and specialist training. - As a
charity we rely heavily on the generosity of everyday Kiwis
to support our life-saving
work.
© Scoop Media
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