The 1^st of February marks the start of National Heart Month. This is an annual event that is observed within the UK and aims to raise awareness about various heart diseases and how to look after your heart, so it can look after you.

Not only is this observed in the UK, but our friends over in the USA are also celebrating American Heart Month which has similar aims to ensure their population is aware of heart diseases too.

This year, the team here at defibshop wanted to get as many people involved with National Heart Month as possible… That’s why we simply had to come up with a plan…

Starting the Month in Style

This year, the team here at defibshop started National Heart Month off in style by heading to Intu Trafford Centre to help teach staff, shoppers and even the emergency services how to save a life with North West Ambulance.

North West Ambulance Service equipped the teams with CPR racing facilities as well as CPR Effectiveness tests to see how effective the trainee’s CPR was. We were also lucky enough to share not only our CPR skills with everyone but also our defibrillator skills too with training units that emulate the clinical devices and steps that should be taken, during an emergency.

Currently, as it stands, only 22% of people in the UK would feel confident in performing CPR on a stranger. By sharing our skills and raising awareness with our local ambulance service we’re hoping that we can drastically improve this statistic and follow in the footsteps of other countries, such as Sweden who boast a 70% treatment rate for those who fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest.

Successful Day

After our team spent the day with North West Ambulance Service at Intu Trafford Centre, we were delighted to find out that we had exceeded our Restart a Heart Day total of 706 and successfully trained 815 people in effective CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

Should someone fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest or require immediate cardiac attention, these 815 new life-savers can confidently act and deliver the treatment required, prior to the emergency services arriving at the scene.

You can see just some of the 815 new life-savers in our exclusive video:

We’ve now trained a grand total of 1,512 people and we have our sights on training even more.

Get Involved

There are multiple ways you can get involved for National Heart Month, many find this the best time to become a heartsafe place by fundraising and investing in a defibrillator. Why not ensure your heart and the hearts around you are protected?

The team here at defibshop have a few things penned in on the social calendar, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for our activities. You never know, they may leave you inspired!

Maybe you already know what you want to do for National Heart Month. A few of the favourites being to eat healthier and to be more active. Focusing on your heart's health will help you to take the vital steps of showing your heart some love. Whatever you’ve decided, we want to hear about it!

Get in touch by leaving us a comment below, or head on over to our Twitter and Facebook pages and share your National Heart Month plans with us.

defibshop are committed to equipping everyone with the skills and knowledge to save a life. Speak to one of our Product Specialists on 0161 776 7422 or fill out our Contact Form.