It took two major cardiac events for Paul to listen to his heart

Heart Health Ambassador Paul Davis.

When Paul Davis experienced his first major cardiac event in 2019, he tried to ignore the signs his body was telling him – until he couldn’t.

The then-48-year-old had been experiencing severe chest pains for months before he sought help.

In his words, he was “too young, too fit and ultimately too stubborn” to accept that there could be a problem with his heart. But there was.

In fact, Paul’s left anterior descending artery was more than 90% blocked, placing him at serious risk of having a heart attack.

He was diagnosed with chronic heart disease and immediately underwent a stent procedure, followed by cardiac rehab.

While effective, Paul said he still didn’t take the warning signs seriously.

“I still felt fairly young at heart. I thought I’d been fixed and now I could just get back to ‘normal’.”

Fast forward to earlier this year and Paul experienced a second major cardiac event. Again, he required life-saving surgery to clear a blocked artery.

This time he said it was the wake-up call he needed to turn his life around and take his heart health seriously – not just for himself, but for his family.

“No one really wants to see a loved one being carted off to hospital in an ambulance,” he said.

“Certainly from my perspective, I don’t want to see my wife and children being so upset and traumatised by that.

“So it was that that made me say ‘you really should do something about it’.

“You should stop thinking you’re ... not invincible, or far too young for this to be happening.

“Because it is happening and it’s not just happening to me, it’s having an impact on loved ones as well.”

Paul was one of the first participants to sign up for this year’s Run & Walk for Your Heart event, returning to UTAS Stadium precinct on October 2.

Through this event, the Foundation aims to create community awareness of the importance of a healthy heart.

Importantly, all funds raised will support heart research in Northern Tasmania.

Participants can choose to run or walk the 5-kilometre circuit in-person on the day or virtually, with a kids 800 metre sprint event also on offer.

Clifford Craig Foundation CEO Peter Milne said the event was about raising awareness and encouraging the community to take action on improving their own heart health.

“2022 has been a shocking year for heart disease,” Peter said.

“We have seen high-profile deaths of people like Shane Warne, and it just serves as a wake-up call that none of us are immune to this horrible disease.

“Importantly, we know that most risk factors for heart disease are preventable – so we can either sit back and do nothing, or we can take action.”

Throughout September, the Foundation will also be sharing the stories of Tasmanians who have been impacted by heart disease.

All funds raised through this event will support heart research conducted in the state’s North and North-West.