Emma: supporting smart salt for stronger hearts

From heart attack survivor to salt reduction advocate 

The heart attack no one saw coming 

For Emma, improving the food supply with a potassium-enriched salt alternative isn’t just smart – it’s personal. 

In 2015, at 45, Emma had a heart attack no one – not even her – saw coming. She was strong, fit, and training for a world bodybuilding championship. But there were risks beneath the surface: a history of smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol, intense stress, and a recent relationship breakdown. 

“I thought heart attacks happened to other people – older or inactive people,” she said. “Not someone like me!”  

Why salt matters 

Now, Emma lives with constant awareness of what contributed to her heart attack – and salt is high on the list. 

“People don’t realise how much sodium is in everyday foods, even ones that don’t taste salty. For someone like me, trying to manage salt intake every day is exhausting,” she said. 

That’s why she supports the Heart Foundation Catalyst Partner’s initiative, Switch the salt to save your heart – a national push to replace regular salt with potassium-enriched alternatives and reduce Australia’s high sodium intake, a major driver of high blood pressure and heart disease. 

“Potassium-enriched salt could be a game changer – especially for those at risk or recovering like me. Any dietary solution that simplifies this challenge will help keep people healthy and ease the stress of constantly worrying about salt intake.” 

The bigger picture 

Emma’s not alone. One in three Australian adults has high blood pressure, and most don’t know it. Sodium from processed foods is a leading and preventable cause. Switch the salt is a scalable, food-system solution that could save thousands of lives. 

Emma’s story reminds us that the statistics are real – and so are the stakes. 

“I don’t stress, I don’t race, I don’t chase,” says Emma. “I’ve changed my life, and I want to help change others’. Salt might seem small, but it can make a big difference.” 

Emma’s story underscores the urgent need to reimagine how we approach prevention. Heart disease doesn’t always look like what we expect – and reducing salt across the food supply could be a low-cost, high-impact way to protect millions of people in Australia.

Support the salt switch. Help prevent heart attacks and strokes before they happen – by changing what’s in our saltshakers.  Learn more about our Catalyst Partner.