It is shockingly simple to help save a life - this is the key message of Restart a Heart Day, celebrated last week as a reminder of the importance of early intervention in cardiac arrest.

Over 32,000 people a year suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Australia, almost 4,000 of those occur in South Australia. Sadly, only 1 in 10 of them survive.

According to The Heart Foundation, when an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is used in conjunction with CPR in the first 3 to 5 minutes of a cardiac arrest, the chance of surviving jumps to around 70 percent.

Finniss MP David Basham has recently had an AED installed in his electorate office in Victor Harbor.

He says he is pleased to be part of South Australia’s efforts to lead the nation in the saturation of AEDs in public places, with particular focus in regional areas.

“Saving a life can be made easier, even without a great deal of training because AEDs are designed so that a person just needs to follow the verbal prompts to give someone in cardiac arrest a better chance of survival,” he says.

“We have people visiting the office every day seeking information and assistance, some of them are coming for help because of health concerns. We also provide a regular meeting place for community groups and many of these people are seniors.

“I hope the AED is never needed, but to have it close at hand just adds peace of mind for anyone inside or near the office.”

Jennie Politis is a regularly user of the meeting room at the Finniss electorate office with the Victor Harbor VIEW Club.

“We can get a bit passionate about things in our meetings, so it is reassuring to know there is the ability to intervene immediately with the prospect of saving lives in our community.” 

New AED laws were introduced in South Australia this year making access to the devices mandatory in certain buildings, facilities and vehicles, with the aim to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest by increasing their public access.  

The AED at the Finniss Electorate Office is located at 71 Victoria Street Victor Harbor and is available during office hours from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.