This morning SABC3 Expresso Breakfast Show presenter, Graeme Richards put his life on the line hanging 22 meters from the ground, off the edge of the Expresso penthouse studio in Sea Point, Cape Town. It wasn’t only for thrills though; Graeme put his heart to the test for a good cause.

Expresso teamed up with Flora in this abseil challenge to encourage people to think with their hearts and acknowledge that September is heart health awareness month.

Advances in sports technology have allowed one to not only record heart rate, but also to record time, calculate average and maximum heart rate for an exercise period, and sound an alarm when heart rate exceeds a maximum high heart-rate zone. Learning to monitor your heart rate warns one against the signs of high cholesterol and aids in reaching fitness goals.

The Abseil Africa team rigged Graeme up to a heart monitor and monitored his heartbeat from the moment he stepped off the edge, until he was safely on the ground.

Graeme’s adventures continue, as we put him through a series of high intensity challenges as Expresso, encourages South African’s to think with their hearts, and celebrate healthy living this September.