Together We Can Save Lives!
Only one in ten survive a cardiac arrest. We can beat that, and that's what World Restart a Heart Day is all about!
World Restart a Heart Day is an annual event promoting awareness about the importance of CPR and early defibrillation in saving lives from cardiac arrest.
We share incredible survival stories highlighting the role of bystander intervention, where family members, teammates, or trained individuals acted quickly to deliver CPR and use AEDs.
These real-life experiences highlight how anyone, with minimal training or guidance, can make a critical difference in emergencies. The initiative encourages communities to be prepared, reinforcing the importance of CPR education and accessible AEDs.
If you would like to help out, or get in touch for more information, please contact us here.
Our Stories
14 October 2023
“I felt quite fortunate to have done my full first aid course, if I hadn’t, I would’ve been even more panicked.”
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.”
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14 October 2023
"When the rubber hits the road you want to have the muscle memory of knowing how to do CPR."
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.
13 October 2023
“Our coach told the boys, ‘I don’t care what you do, kick those doors down”.
“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.
16 October 2022
Ella's Story: "I know I did everything I could, because I was trained."
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.
Her Dad Geoff suddenly collapsed.
13 October 2022
Tennis players rally to save woman's life
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.
6 April 2022
CPR Saved my Life: Quick action from parents saves 20 year old’s 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.
2 November 2021
CPR Saved my Life: Donnie and Janice's Story
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”.
The NZ Resuscitation Council's Role
The New Zealand Resuscitation Council endorses the statement Kids Save Lives, which was upheld by the World Health Organisation in 2015.
Kids Save Lives advocates a mandatory minimum requirement for all school children aged 12 and older to do two hours of CPR training every year.
The Ministry of Education and New Zealand Resuscitation Council have partnered to develop 'AEDs in schools', a guidance document for school boards and leaders.
'AEDs in schools' raises awareness that sudden cardiac arrest may happen to anyone, and it may occur on school grounds or during school activities.
Schools are encouraged to prepare for such an emergency and consider the value of an onsite automated external defibrillator (AED).
'AEDs in schools' has been released by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Past Events
World Restart a Heart 2023
World Restart a Heart Day 2023 focused on the critical role of immediate CPR and community AED access in saving lives. Each story highlights how quick action by bystanders, often non-professionals like partners or teammates, was key to survival.
These stories also highlight the importance of preparedness through CPR training—those who acted were either trained or guided, showing that knowing what to do makes a life-or-death difference.
Our 3 stories for 2023 share the key message of the importance of equipping everyone with these essential life-saving skills.
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World Restart a Heart Day 2022
In 2022 we focused on the role of bystanders and the importance of their response when someone is in cardiac arrest. In Aotearoa bystanders respond in 75% of cardiac arrests, these people may be colleagues, team mates, friends, family or even strangers. In 2022 we spoke to 4 groups about their incredible response when faced with a medical emergency. #WorldRestartaHeart #IknowCPR
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Restart a Heart Day 2021
Approximately 5 people a day are treated for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Aotearoa, which is about 2000 people annually.
Of the 2000 people responded to by emergency services, 25% will have a pulse when they arrive at a hospital and only 13% survive more than 30 days following a cardiac arrest.
In 2021 we shared stories of survival using #CPRSavedMyLife. Thank you for sharing your stories.
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Restart a Heart Day 2020
This year in 2020 192 countries are celebrating the 60th Year of CPR apart but together on social media.
In a socially distanced world we are joining with our colleagues around the globe promoting bystander CPR and the Kids Save Lives message on social media. If you are celebrating World Restart a Heart Day we would love to see it.
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Restart a Heart Day 2019
2019 was the first year the New Zealand Resuscitation Council has held their own event. We were fortunate to be hosted at New Zealand’s Parliament Buildings.
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Restart a Heart Day 2018
With World Restart a Heart Day behind us, we can look back proudly on New Zealand’s role in a global success.
Thousands of people took part in activities across the country, and many thousands more were reached in a coordinated information campaign by the organisations taking part.
Below are some of the highlights. As always, the important thing is that life saving skills were taught, and an empowering message was successfully promoted.
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