Stories

From a young age, Chamilka Punchihewa knew she wanted to help people.

In 2015, Pete Fleming had emergency surgery for an aortic dissection, then two years later underwent bypass surgery to insert four stents. Now, he's gearing up to participate in the Auckland Marathon as a Heart Foundation Heart Racer, alongside his friends John Bleackley and Dave Sisam – who share a similar story.

This October Adele Jecentho with be running a half marathon as a Heart Foundation Heart Racer, raising money in support of her Dad who had two heart attacks earlier this year.

A Facebook ad for Pacific Heartbeat’s course, Certificate of Proficiency in Pacific Nutrition, caught the attention of Susie Nonoa while she was caring for her sick dad.

Earlier this year Kiwibank announced that it is going ‘cheque-free’. This means that from 28 February 2020, the bank will not honour or accept cheques and it won’t be possible to order a new Kiwibank cheque book from 30 September this year.

Dr Michelle Munro is undertaking a world-first study into protein interactions that could provide new treatment options for people living with atrial fibrillation (AF), helping to improve their symptoms and quality of life.

The Heart Foundation’s heart attack awareness TV campaign has been running since 2015 and is proving to save lives. When experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, New Zealanders have been seeking help sooner as a result of seeing the ad on TV.

Heidi Harty-Eugster’s ten-year-old daughter Coco ran alongside her mum at the Jennian Mother’s Day Run/Walk event in Christchurch on Sunday 12 May, as the pair helped to raise awareness about women’s heart health.

On Mother’s Day Denise Quinney, together with her son, Bronson, will be walking the streets of Palmerston North in memory of her mum who died suddenly of a heart attack in 2013.

Last year Froline ‘Flo’ Tokaa graduated from the AUT Certificate of Proficiency in Pacific Nutrition (CPPN) course delivered by Pacific Heartbeat (PHB) in conjunction with Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

Within two years of having a heart attack up to one in five people in New Zealand experience further problems needing repeat admissions to hospital or even death.

A thirteen-year-old boy is calling on schools and workplaces to support his project which aims to reduce the number of Kiwis dying from cardiac arrest.