The British Heart Foundation (BHF) charity invited the nation to ‘watch their own heart attack’ on ITV1 on August 10 to raise awareness of heart attack symptoms. With almost a quarter of a million people suffer heart attacks each year in the UK, this advert could be the single most important two minutes of television people will ever see.
This video will help the British public recognise heart attack symptoms and urge people to call 999 immediately when they experience them. Only 6% of the UK have sought heart advice with their GP according to a recent survey commissioned by the British Heart Foundation, with 18% of those questioned not even knowing what the symptoms of a heart attack are. Another 38% of people are putting their lives at risk by taking heart attack advice from TV and movies.
Heart attack symptoms can be more subtle than the ‘Hollywood’ heart attack with actors collapsing and clutching their chest in extreme pain. With almost a quarter of a million people suffering from heart attacks every year, it is important to know the tell tale signs as a third of those people die before reaching the hospital.
Chief Executive of the East Midlands Ambulance Service, Paul Phillips, said –
‘We welcome any efforts that endeavour to save lives by teaching people how to identify a possible heart attack and encouraging them to call 999 more quickly. We’d rather attend a false alarm than arrive too late.’
While Director of Policy and Communications at the BHF, Betty McBride, said –
‘We’re bringing heart attacks to life in living rooms across the UK because understanding how one could feel might mean the difference between life and death.’
The British Heart Foundation is leading the battle against the UK’s biggest killer disease. The charity is a major funder and authority in cardiovascular research, and plays an important role in education and providing life-saving cardiac equipment and support for rehabilitation and care.
