The Big Heart Appeal funds vital research nationwide.
This article was produced by the Heart Foundation and is being published on the New Zealand Herald as advertorial.
The Big Heart Appeal returns this February and March, sharing inspiring stories from across New Zealand and an urgent call for Kiwis to help fund life-saving heart research.
Running across two months, it is the Heart Foundation’s largest annual fundraising event. Kiwis are encouraged to donate during the nationwide street collection on Friday February 27 and Saturday February 28, and online throughout March, to help fight New Zealand’s single biggest killer: heart disease.
“One person in New Zealand dies from heart disease every 90 minutes,” says Heart Foundation Medical Director, Dr Gerry Devlin. “It’s the single biggest killer in New Zealand and globally.”
Dr Devlin says heart attacks can happen without much warning, and today every 45 minutes, a New Zealander is admitted to hospital with a heart attack.
Funds raised through the Big Heart Appeal help make a big difference, supporting research that leads to improved treatments for heart disease and investing in overseas training for cardiologists so they can bring home the skills to benefit New Zealanders.
“Advances once thought impossible are now routine, largely due to research,” he says. “Heart valves can be replaced, arteries examined without invasive surgery, pacemakers can stabilise heart rhythm disorders, hearts are transplanted, imaging pinpoints problems with remarkable precision and blood tests can diagnose heart attacks.”
Stories like Ian Smith’s show exactly why heart research matters.
After nearly a decade working at the Heart Foundation, Ian never imagined he’d be the one fighting for his life.
In May 2024, he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during his morning commute along Auckland’s Tāmaki Drive, collapsing on a crowded bus without warning.
Fellow passengers quickly sprang into action – calling 111, performing CPR and supporting Ian and one another until emergency crews arrived. They used a defibrillator and rushed Ian to hospital, where doctors discovered he’d had a major heart attack caused by three severely blocked arteries. He later underwent an urgent triple bypass.
Ian says he is deeply grateful to the strangers who stepped in to save his life.
Against the odds, Ian survived. Today, he’s sharing his story as part of the Big Heart Appeal, urging New Zealanders to support life-saving heart research.
Your donation this February and March could help save the next life. Support the Big Heart Appeal today at heartfoundation.org.nz/donation.
Read Ian’s story here: www.heartfoundation.org.nz