Victoria has Australia's best cardiac arrest survival rate, and the second best in the world.
But there's more to do to save thousands of Victorian lives each year - with around 21 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each day.
Minister for Ambulance Services Ingrid Stitt today launched Ambulance Victoria's annual Shocktober campaign.
It's encouraging Victorians to learn the practical and lifesaving skills to help someone experiencing cardiac arrest.
This includes learning CPR and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Across the month, Ambulance Victoria will hold more than 200 community activities statewide.
The activities will give people the confidence and skills to take three simple actions when someone in cardiac arrest.
Call, Push, Shock. Call Triple Zero (000), push by starting CPR and shock by using an AED.
More Victorians are also being encouraged to sign up as a GoodSAM responder.
18,600 people already registered with the free app that alerts nearby responders to a cardiac arrest.
It also gives the location of the nearest AED, so they can perform CPR and use the AED while an ambulance is on the way.
For every minute that CPR is delayed, survival decreases by 10 per cent.
But when CPR and an AED is used before paramedics arrive, it can more than double a person's chance of survival.
Victoria has 10,000 registered AEDs - more than anywhere else in Australia.
AEDs are designed to be easy to use, with instructions that guide people through what to do.
Victorians are already doing their bit, with bystanders performing CPR in 80 per cent of witnessed cardiac arrests last year.
The Carroll Labor Government has invested $2 billion into Victoria's ambulance services.
This includes increasing the on-road workforce by more than 50 per cent and building or upgrading 51 ambulance branches across the state.
As stated by Minister for Ambulance Services Ingrid Stitt
"Every minute matters when someone suffers a cardiac arrest - Shocktober is making sure those minutes matter."
"Victoria has one of the best cardiac survival rates anywhere in the world and that is thanks to our dedicated paramedics and the brave Victorians who step up to save a life."
As stated by Member for Broadmeadows Kathleen Matthews-Ward
"When someone's heart stops, every minute matters - starting CPR and using an AED before an ambulance arrives can more than double their chance of survival."
