In July last year The Heart Foundation ran an awareness campaign to address the public perceptions of heart attack symptoms. Many people think they are melodramatic whereas they are … read moreactually relatively subtle. The thought provoking ad resonated with the public immediately and it had half a million views on You Tube. Calls to 111 for heart related illnesses spiked immediately, and have remained consistently higher. Reports from doctors and medical staff confirmed that people were seeking help as a direct affect of seeing the ad, and people’s behaviour towards their own heart health was changing.
One of those seeking help was Ian Lancaster. On any other day Ian would have put his feelings down to something as mundane as indigestion, but having just seen the Heart Foundation’s ad the night before, he called emergency services. After suffering a cardiac arrest in the ambulance, he was treated, and survived. Watching the ad had saved his life.
For the Heart Foundation’s Annual Appeal this February, Ian agreed to help us tell his story, and to show the public that their donations directly affect the lives of everyday Kiwis. Together we can fight New Zealand’s biggest killer, heart disease.
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