Michael Reed was rushed to Port Macquarie Base Hospital six months ago.

The father-of-three had a heart attack.

The same day, the Port Macquarie builder was airlifted by helicopter to Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital.

His wife, Susan, and daughter, Tenika, followed him to Sydney.

Mr Reed had a procedure called a coronary angiogram and a stent put in place to relieve the artery blockage.

The 47-year-old said he potentially might have less heart damage if the procedure could have been done at Port Macquarie.

Mr Reed lost 18kg in three months and exercises regularly.

He takes eight tablets a day, plus vitamins.

Meanwhile, the campaign continues to secure a cardiac catheterisation laboratory in Port Macquarie.

The laboratory would make it unnecessary for about 400 Hastings and Macleay residents to leave the area each year for a potentially life-saving coronary angiogram.

A coronary angiogram is a procedure during which a small tube is inserted into the heart to diagnose, and often open, coronary artery blockages

Heart disease is our community’s biggest killer.

Mr Reed supports the campaign.

“As Port Macquarie is an aged area, things aren’t about to get any better,” he said.

Health campaigner Anne Meister and Heart Support-Australia Port Macquarie Hastings Region Branch have joined the push for a laboratory here.

A fundraising night with a 1960s theme is being planned to raise more money for the cause.

A North Coast Area Health Service spokesman said cardiac catheterisation was offered as a statewide service.

“The Coffs Harbour service planning included the Hastings Macleay population as part of its catchment area,” he said.

“It is anticipated that the cardiac catheterisation laboratory at the Coffs Harbour Health Campus will service the Hastings/Macleay population for the foreseeable future