David Richardson thought the niggling pain in his shoulder was just a pinched nerve. But as the minutes ticked by, he was actually suffering a life-threatening heart attack. If David’s wife Lynnelle hadn’t recognised the warning signs, and got David to hospital, he might not have been so lucky.

“Before it happened to me, I thought I knew what a heart attack would feel like. I thought it would be a crushing pain in my chest, pain down my left side, and profuse sweating. A colleague told me his heart attack felt like “an elephant was on his chest”, so I thought they were all like that. But I didn’t have any of those typical signs.

All I felt was a strange, niggling pain in my upper shoulder. At first I thought it might have been indigestion, but as it got slowly worse, I figured I’d trapped a nerve in my sleep. I just tried to ignore it and went shopping with my wife, Lynnelle.

But as the pain got worse and I began to sweat, Lynnelle became alarmed. Heart Foundation awareness campaigns had taught her that not all heart attacks are sudden or severe and that warning signs vary from person to person. She got me to a hospital quickly, which probably saved my life. “

Please help Heart Foundation ensure more Australians, like Lynnelle, can identify the warning signs of heart attack, through further research and awareness campaigns. Donate today, so that more lives can be saved.

Click here to read more about David’s story.

Please click here to donate to the Heart Foundation today.