Can You Do CPR on Someone Bigger Than You? A Movember Story

When I read the Aotearoa New Zealand men’s health statistics, my eyes filled with tears and my heart got those stabbies that signal loss. I was at the hair salon, waiting for 60 years of life to vanish under a prettier colour, and I had to hold it together. The numbers brought many of my own family to mind. Maybe they bring your menfolk to mind too.

The statistics come from Movember, the charity behind the moustaches you’ll see sprouting on upper lips around the country this month. Its report found that two in five men in Aotearoa New Zealand die before they turn 75, mostly from things we know how to prevent and treat. Heart disease is near the top of the list. We hear about it so often that I wonder whether we’ve stopped paying attention.

Part of Movember’s work is helping men recognise when they’re struggling, and helping the people around them know how to step in.

That matters to me. I want to be available and capable, ready to help when stepping in is the next best thing. It’s something any of us can learn.

I’ve taught first aid for a really really REALLY long time, but I didn’t read that report as a first aid instructor. I read it as a wife.

My husband Mike, is a big man, and he’s in good health on paper. But like a lot of people, he gets through the workday on caffeine. Then he doesn’t sleep well, so he needs more caffeine the next day to get through the workday again. That cycle can run for weeks, months, even years.

He knows it’s happening. He brings it up more often than I do. And then, the next day, he does the same thing again. I’m not criticising him. His wife knows plenty about healthy choices too, and sometimes makes the same stupid ones all over again.

In my house, it’s caffeine. In yours, it might be something else. We all have our ways of getting through busy lives and stress, some more helpful than others.

But years of short sleep are hard on the heart, and heart disease was near the top of that list. So I think about this more often than not: I’ve been teaching CPR for 26 years, and I honestly don’t know if I could save my husband’s life.

I don’t know if I’d have enough strength in my little old lady muscles to do CPR effectively. But I would do the absolute best I could. I’d be grateful that I knew what to do, and that I had the skills, practice and tools to give it everything I’ve got.

I keep a home emergency plan on the fridge, ready in case we ever need it. You can download your own copy here. It’s on page 10 of our 3 Things to Know to Save a Life guide.

I also know I wouldn’t be doing it alone. As soon as I call 111, help is on its way, and the person on the phone stays with me. I know where our closest defibrillator is, too and it's written down in the plan so others in the household know too.

You can check yours at aedlocations.co.nz. The green markers show outdoor cabinets you can access any time of day or night. Send someone to get the AED, and ask them to take their phone. If the cabinet is locked, they’ll need to call 111 for the access code.

Once switched on, an AED talks you through each step. Calling 111, starting CPR and getting an AED onto the person’s chest gives them the best chance. Anyone can learn to do all three of those things.

The best thing I can do for my husband is keep encouraging him to book those GP appointment and get some decent sleep. I can’t make those choices for him, but I can keep loving him and be ready if he ever needs me. I’ll keep my skills fresh, and I’ll get him along to a class too, because looking out for each other shouldn’t be a one-way street. He should know how to help me, and together we can help the people around us. Community care is a team sport!

So this Movember, who are your loves?

If you’d like to know what to do if the worst happens, find the CFA course that fits your time here

Gail Pomare

Head of Training

City First Aid Training Ltd

Next week: why I worry as a boy mama.

Source: Movember Institute of Men’s Health, The Real Face of Men’s Health: Aotearoa New Zealand (2025).