On Restart a Heart Day, Ambulance Victoria (AV) and the Heart Foundation celebrated towns in Gippsland joining the Heart Safe Communities.

The Heart Safe Community program aims to improve survival rates for cardiac arrest, by working with communities to raise awareness, teach residents how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED), promote GoodSAM and install new publicly accessible AEDs.

GoodSAM is a life-saving smartphone app that connects Victorians in cardiac arrest with members of the community who are willing to start CPR in the critical minutes before paramedics arrive.

AV Director Regional and Clinical Operations Gippsland Ross Salathiel congratulated everyone involved in raising awareness across Gippsland.

"Minutes matter in a cardiac arrest and I m so pleased these communities are now in a better position to save more lives, understanding the importance of bystander intervention and calling Triple Zero (000) immediately," he said.

"Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time."

The Heart Safe Community program was launched in 2019 and is a joint initiative between AV and the Heart Foundation.

This month, AV is promoting Shocktober, which is a month-long campaign to highlight the importance of learning CPR and how to use an AED.

Every day, around 21 Victorians have a cardiac arrest and only one in 10 survive.

Bystander CPR and use of an AED more than doubles a patient's chance of survival.

The minutes between a cardiac arrest occurring and paramedics arriving are an important time for bystanders to act,  Ross said.

"Anyone can save a life -  just call Triple Zero (000), push hard and fast on the middle of the chest, and shock using an AED."

 Heart Foundation Victoria General Manager Chris Enright said the Heart Safe Community initiative is vital to help improve the confidence and willingness of bystanders to take life-saving action.

"The partnership between the Heart Foundation and AV continues to champion Victorian communities by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to help save a life in the event of a cardiac arrest," she said.

"We know that unfortunately, the survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests is low, but when a bystander gives CPR and uses an AED within the first few minutes, a person s chance of survival significantly improves.

"Expanding the Heart Safe Community program across Victorian towns will have a tangible impact on heart health at a local level and can ultimately save lives."

Restart a Heart Day, held annually on October 16, is a global initiative to encourage people to learn CPR and how to use an AED.

To learn more about Heart Safe Communities, visit www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/community/community-partnerships/heart-safe-communities, and for more information about Shocktober visit www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/shocktober.

Consider signing up as a GoodSAM responder by visiting www.goodsamapp.org/AV or by downloading the GoodSAM app.

AED units are installed across Phillip Island and in San Remo, with new units recently installed outside the Wooli Express store in Cape Woolamai and the Ventnor Store.