In a "harebrained" 2,642-kilometre journey down the Murray River on his stand-up paddleboard, Peter Charlesworth's aim is for regional Australians to take their heart health seriously.
Hailing from the New South Wales border town of Albury, Mr Charlesworth has already completed 2,000km of his trip.
As part of an ultra-distance Guinness World Record attempt — with no support crew — he's paddling the length of the Murray River as well as lakes Hume, Mulwala and Alexandrina.
"The existing record is nearly 2,642km, so I'm hoping to tick over that in the next three weeks," Mr Charlesworth said.
"I've got all of my living quarters and water filtration, backup paddle, technology and camping gear on board and it’s all sealed up in dry bags."
Health scare prompts 'mid-life crisis'
Mr Charlesworth named his paddleboard "Karina" after the paramedic who kept him alive during an ambulance transfer from Albury to Melbourne in 2020.
Sudden chest pains led to Mr Charlesworth having emergency triple bypass surgery at 47 years old.
It was a health episode that took him by surprise.
"I've always looked after myself, but in my case I had blockages and it's something you can't see, you don't know," he said.
"Unfortunately, in many cases, you're not symptomatic until you've got an advanced issue and for a lot of people that can lead to a catastrophic event like a heart attack."
After his experience with regional healthcare, Mr Charlesworth is advocating for regional Australians to take their heart health into their own hands.
"The lack of awareness for testing for cardiac health issues led me to come up with this harebrained idea to spend my mid-life crisis advocating for cardiac health,” he said.
"We need to advocate for ourselves and insist on a referral to a cardiologist or a service that's able to give a comprehensive overview of the state of your cardiac health.
"Not just an ECG, not just a blood pressure test, not just a blood test, but actually dive a bit deeper and check things out properly."
Importance of testing
Heart Foundation SA general manager Marie Ludlow says being aware of heart disease risk factors is important for everyone, not just people living in regional areas.
"Some of them are silent risk factors," she said.
"You won't actually be aware that you have these risks for heart disease until something catastrophic happens."
The federal government recently extended Medicare rebates for heart health checks until 2025.
The test can be undertaken by general practitioners and can help to identify the risk of heart attack or stroke in patients who have not previously been diagnosed with heart disease.
Dr Ludlow says the test is the best way for people to be able to prevent a catastrophic heart event.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has been contacted for comment.
