The Irish Heart Foundation today unveiled a community scheme in a bid to combat the 6,000 deaths each year from heart attacks.
The Heartsafe Community Programme, announced by President Mary McAleese, is designed to "strengthen the chain of survival" by teaching people the techniques of cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use automatic external defibrillators.
Heart disease is the biggest cause of death in the State, killing 11,000 people each year. More than half of those die suddenly.
Around 70 per cent of sudden cardiac arrests happen out of hospital and the survival rate from these heart attacks is only 1 per cent. President McAleese today
watched a demonstration of CPR and the automatic external defibrillator (AED), which analyses the heart rhythm and uses voice prompts to advise if a shock is needed.
The computerised devices cost around €2,000 each. After seeing the demonstration, Mrs McAleese told members of the Irish Heart Foundation that with the Heartsafe programme, communities would have many people with the confidence, training and facilities to save lives.
"The Heartsafe community programme is something that's going to make a huge difference to the lived lives of individuals and their families," she said. She told the foundation that when her father suffered his first heart attack, he only survived because of the actions of a cardiac nurse who found him in the street.
"This scheme is aimed at communities, and through it everybody is given the understanding that we have a role to play in the chain of survival, and that we don't always have to depend on the ambulance or the doctor," Mrs McAleese said.
Dr William Fennell, president of the Irish Heart Foundation, said the programme was about encouraging communities to take steps to save lives.
As part of the programme the foundation will establish a "heartbeats" points system for communities, businesses and schools who complete required and optional elements.
Once a community has achieved the necessary number of points - by training people in resuscitation and placing AEDs - it will be declared a "Heartsafe Community" for the next two years.