According to the Singapore Heart Foundation, every day in Singapore, 15 people die from cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke). Cardiovascular disease accounted for 29.9% of all deaths in 2014. This means that nearly one out of three deaths in Singapore is due to heart disease or stroke.

To build community emergency preparedness and raise the bystander response rate in cases of cardiac arrest outside the hospital, Temasek Foundation Cares partnered Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF) in the pilot Restart A Heart programme, which uses a simplified pedagogy to equip Singaporeans in continuous chest compression and use of an AED Heart Restarter. These life-saving skills can be learned through a 1-hour training course conducted by SHF, which teaches one to:

• Recognise when a person’s heart stops;
• Call 995 for Emergency Medical Service (EMS);
• Start continuous chest compressions;
• Use an AED Heart Restarter if available; and
• Stay on the line with EMS and wait for an ambulance to arrive.

The programme is part of the ‘Stay Prepared’ initiative funded by the Temasek Emergency Preparedness Fund, with an endowment totalling S$75m from Temasek Holdings.

To encourage people to learn these life-saving skills, Temasek Foundation Cares launched the ‘Restart-A-Heart’ awareness campaign in July 2017, in tandem with National Day celebrations. Specially designed memorabilia in the form of bag tags and keychains in collectible tins were distributed to Singaporeans from all walks of life through the National Day Parade (NDP) funpacks. An estimated 180,000 people received the collaterals and their intended ‘Stay Prepared’ and ‘Restart A Heart’ messages.

Along with the physical takeaways, the campaign included the production and amplification of a creative video that promoted the learning of life-saving skills in a fun and light-hearted manner. The video was played at all National Education shows, NDP Previews and on the actual day NDP. A digital amplification campaign was also activated on key social media channels to extend the reach of the messages.

FIND OUT MORE…

Watch the campaign video

https://youtu.be/KUAQn-pSBVc

Learn how to save a life

Anyone can learn to restart a heart and save a life. Interested persons can call the Singapore Heart Foundation at Tel: 6354 9379/73 or Email: [email protected] to register their interest.