“Will you recognise your heart attack?” campaign 2010

The “Will you recognise your heart attack?” campaign aims to increase awareness and confidence in recognising heart attack warning signs and the need to get treatment fast. For lives to be saved, the Heart Foundation urges all Australians to be able to better identify and know the warning signs of a heart attack and respond appropriately by calling triple zero (000). The campaign targets men and women aged 45-65 years while also engaging the broader population to reappraise their knowledge of heart attacks with respect to their loved ones and to take appropriate action.

The campaign will commence in both metropolitan Melbourne and rural/regional Victoria from 19th July 2010.

• Within metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong the campaign will run through to the end of November 2010.
• For all other rural/regional Victoria the campaign will run for 8-weeks through to mid September.

The key messages of the campaign are:

• Seek more information about heart attack and learn the warning signs;
• Call triple zero (000) if you think you’re having a heart attack;
• The longer you wait, the more your heart muscle is damaged;
• It’s better to call triple zero (000) even if it turns out to be a false alarm; and
• Once triple zero (000) is called, treatment begins in transit

The campaign will encompass TV, radio and print media. Supporting materials and further information about the campaign will be available at www.heartattackfacts.org.au .

The campaign evaluation will measure awareness and knowledge of heart attack warning signs and intention to call triple zero (000) for heart attack. The campaign will also measure ‘symptom onset to hospital presentation time’ and ‘mode of arrival’ for chest pain presentations in selected Emergency Departments.

For further information, please contact Christopher Poulter at Heart Foundation Victoria on (03) 9321 1596 or at christopher.poulter@heartfoundation.org.au.