World Restart a Heart Day takes place every year on 16 October.

Neal, known to his friends and Whangarei teammates as "Rubber," has been passionate about hockey since he was a kid. Over the last four or five years, he focused on getting fitter, training “hard out” for the Masters Hockey Tournament in Wellington.

On the 26th of February, 2024, a hot day, Neal took to the field for one of the tournament's matches. Feeling a bit off, he subbed of at 10 minutes to have a break.

“I did feel some tightness in my chest area, but nothing that seemed different to previous soreness.”

As soon as he sat down, Neal went into cardiac arrest.

Adam has always been a “helper.” As a healthcare assistant and former firefighter, his message is simple: "First, save lives." But one day, it was Adam who needed help when he collapsed outside a Thames dairy, running a quick errand for his granddaughter’s 5th birthday party.

Adam and his partner, Cindy, had driven down from their home in Puhoi, north of Auckland, to spend the day celebrating with family. As soon as they arrived, Adam’s son, Isaac, asked him to pop down to the local dairy—just 500 meters away—to pick up ice and lemonade for the party. Adam hopped into his car and drove to the shop.

After grabbing what he needed, he put the ice in the back of his vehicle but suddenly felt dizzy. He tried to sit down but fell to the ground instead.

A bystander quickly called 111 for help.

Cullen and Taine were just 6 and 7 years old when their mum, Kendall who was a fit healthy 35 year old, had a sudden cardiac arrest right in their living room.

Cullen 24, now a high school teacher, and Taine 23, an architectural design student, are sharing their story alongside their mum to raise awareness about the importance of teaching children how to respond in emergencies.

In New Zealand, more than 2,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur annually, with 80% happening at home. This was the case for Kendall on December 28, 2007.

After dinner, Cullen and Taine were watching TV when their mother suddenly collapsed in front of them.

February 2023 23 year old Atelea (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaaue) was working as part of the response for Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bay in his role in the Defence Force.

“I got to work that day and we were deployed to drive fuel tankers to an aerodrome in Waipukurau. This was to support helicopters to scope damage from the cyclone”.

“The original plan was to stay in Waipukurau, but evacuees needed to be accommodated. The only accommodation available was a small couch at the aerodrome. A colleague of mine made the decision for us to return home for the night instead, a decision that, which I later realised, played a huge part in my survival story.”

On the morning of 18th of August 2014 Cliff woke up, turned off his alarm, and went into cardiac arrest.

Cliff (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Wehiwehi, Ngāti Raukawa) and his partner Alecia (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto) are sharing their experience 9 years on to raise awareness that cardiac arrest can affect anyone at any time, and at any age.

Cliff was only 39 at the time of his cardiac arrest and did not have any prior warning signs or symptoms.

“After my cardiac arrest there was lots of talk of being lucky. I shouldn’t be lucky. People should know that if something happens at a sports event or somewhere else, there should be someone there trained to save their life”.

Heinrich’s day was a usual one, he was running a bit late to rugby training at his rural Taranaki club, Coastal Rugby. It was a cold night and he joined in on warming up with his team and started feeling slightly out of breath, but he remembers thinking this was because of the cold.

He remembers feeling a cold chill travel up his neck, feeling breathless and needing to take a knee, and feeling a thud. Heinrich was in Cardiac Arrest.

Geoff’s story did not end how anyone expected.⁠ Ella along with her parents Geoff and Alison were travelling around the Nelson area in October 2020.⁠
Ella remembers looking at her Dad who was leaning over strangely and had sat down on the wooden railing.⁠
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Her Dad Geoff suddenly collapsed.⁠

Registered Nurse Jane Brunton was playing tennis with her friends Julie and Michelle on a hot Waikato summer morning when the woman serving opposite her collapsed.

Jane, Julie, and Michelle are sharing their story as part of New Zealand Resuscitation Council’s World Restart a Heart campaign to highlight the importance of teamwork when saving a life.

Jane knew she needed to start CPR and get an AED quickly. By rallying her team, together they saved a life.

A 20-year-old is not usually someone you would associate with a cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time without warning. Em Seyb and her parents, Roger Seyb and Karyn Sinclair, discovered this on the evening of 2 November 2020 when they saved Em’s life with their fast response. Em and her family are sharing their story as part of the New Zealand Resuscitation Council’s World Restart a Heart Day Campaign.

Because of their training as co-responders Janice said she felt they had a “magic cloak of safety, that a medical emergency won’t happen to you”.