A tragic week in Australian sport, with the passing of Rod Marsh and Shane Warne from sudden heart attacks, has served a timely reminder to all weekend warriors that no one is invincible – not even some of the greatest athletes to have represented our country.
Football fans should need no reminder, either. Christian Eriksen’s return to football for Brentford in the Premier League has been a cause for celebration – but no one will forget the moment we all watched anxiously at Euro 2020. Since then, the sport has also seen Sergio Aguero have to retire prematurely. As if we needed another example, just last week, Australian football legend Tony Vidmar reflected on his journey to heart health with KEEPUP, explaining how he was warned in 2005 that if he continued to play, he might drop dead.
With the kick-off to grassroots sport around the corner, Heartbeat of Football founder Andy Paschalidis wants recent events – in and out of football – to serve as a wake-up call to the hundreds of thousands of adults across the country who are getting ready to rip in for their local clubs.
Paschalidis, an Australian football media pioneer, started his foundation with a passionate mandate to avoid tragedies across our fields throughout the country. This year, he is particularly concerned, because it isn’t just another season. For many, it will be the first full campaign after two years interrupted due to Covid. Many, in New South Wales in particular, will also lose much of this pre-season to wild weather.
It is why Paschalidis is on a mission to raise awareness of heart health ahead of the campaign, offering a timely reminder and checklist for clubs and players.
“It is a new season, check your de-fib (defibrillator) and ask: is it working and accessible,” he explained to KEEPUP, warning that he has heard of incidents where lives have been lost because the equipment has been locked in a canteen, or not been checked before a season commenced.
“Not just on match days but on training nights.
“Have people ready who know CPR (at the club), (although) the de-fib will also talk you through (if you use it).
“Each club should know: Where is it? Is it working? Are the batteries and pads working? Is it accessible?”
His second message is focused on individual responsibility.
“For senior players, there are factors like blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes. Are you a smoker or a drinker?
“Go this month to the GP before you start playing competitive football in April.”
He added: “(Now) we need to find out: Which clubs have de-fibs, and which clubs don’t? Then we can identify who needs help.”
The numbers over the last eight years explain Paschalidis’ drive.
From 2014-2016, there were 15 deaths, including one coach and a referee, and only three lives were saved.
From 2017 to 2020, 14 lives were saved, although, sadly, six lives were still lost.
In 2021, there were eight lives saved from eight incidents, with defibrillators responsible for six of those people rescued.
He continued: “When you see the saves you know you’re making a difference.
“We’re the only one of a kind in our beautiful game. We’re showing our game and people in the game we can make change – you can make change, get yourself right.
“(Also) have a de-fib there, be ready to react. I’m just going to keep fighting. I know we’re making a difference. We want to do more testing and get out to as many clubs as we can. We are so lucky to have been embraced by the game.”
His organisation, fuelled largely by the work of volunteers, does a lot of work around testing heart health. But it is also lobbying for clubs and fields around the country to have the right facilities as well.
“In a perfect world, I would like to see a defibrillator at every club, and people equipped with CPR to react,” he explained.
“In the instances of all the saves there were people there first aid trained; and as a sport we’re lucky to have so many people who are first aid trained.
“Let’s minimise risk through education and awareness. Let’s have that conversation. We’re a massive sport, don’t be afraid to have the conversation. We want more and more people to play, especially (older players) to be active and have a healthy lifestyle.
“We’re saying: make sure you get checked up before you play!”
Paschalidis, who is planning another National Soccer League reunion as a fundraiser for the organisation, is adamant football can be the leader in this space in Australia, especially given the sport’s participation numbers. But, he added, leadership needs to come from the top end of the sport too, whereas at the moment, the work is being done from the grassroots.
“Our football family, what we can do is show love to other sports: when our season finishes, make sure that the de-fib is available to whatever sport comes through the facility.
“We saved a player at Randwick (in Sydney) early last year (that way). Let’s be proactive in this space. It is not hard, there are a lot of medical people in this space who are football lovers, but as a sport, if we show leadership from the top it will filter down.”
He concluded: “My dream this year is a heart health round at grassroots level filtering up to NPL (National Premier League) level.
“Our sport can lead the way with education and awareness and getting it out there.”
Visit Heartbeat of Football – for more information visit their website here. They recommend Responsible For Life or Cardiac Responder for clubs looking to purchase defibrillators this season.
