Heart Starter

Heart Starter is a Christchurch-based supplier of automated external defibrillators and first aid equipment, and an authorised distributor for ZOLL and DTS. The company was set up around a single goal: that anyone in New Zealand should be able to reach an AED within three minutes.

It notes that more than 2,000 people a year have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in New Zealand, that survival rates sit at roughly 10 to 11 per cent, and that most events happen at home — which makes early bystander CPR and AED use critical. Alongside selling AEDs and supplies, Heart Starter runs AED training, offers a first aid course and supports community fundraising to place defibrillators where they are needed. A practical stop for clubs, farms and families.