MP RECALLS THE DAY HE DIED

LARA MP John Eren was dead for three minutes while in the grip of a cardiac arrest.

In 2016, the then Victorian Sport Minister fell victim to a family history of heart disease and was caught by surprise by an artery that was 95 per cent blocked.

In the lead-up to collapsing on the floor of the Geelong hospital as he sought treatment, Mr Eren said it felt as if “an elephant was sitting on my chest”.

“I walked into the emergency (at Geelong hospital) and within a matter of minutes I was on the floor dead,” he said. “There was a fight for life and death within me and I had no control over it. I felt this could potentially be fatal.”

Mr Eren, 52 years old at the time, cut short a trip to Melbourne after experiencing excruciating chest pain and rushed back to Geelong for medical help.

He was one of almost 4650 people hospitalised in Greater Geelong due to a heart condition between 2012 and 2016.

“I felt betrayed … I was training twice a day. I did cycling. I did gym work. I was very active,” the MP said.

He counts himself lucky that he wasn’t one of the 1235 people in the Geelong region who died from heart disease between 2012 and 2016.

More than two years later, Mr Eren is using his cardiac arrest story to urge even the healthiest of people to have regular heart check-ups.

“Listen to your body — if you’ve got family history you should be going to your doctor regularly and getting at least a 12-monthly checkup,” he said.