Venkaiah Naidu calls for imparting CPR training to youth

Vijaywada/New Delhi: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday urged the schools, local bodies, panchayats and NGOs to organise regular camps on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to acquaint the youngsters with the life-saving procedure.

The training must also form a part of the high school or college curriculum, Naidu added.

CPR is a lifesaving technique that is useful in many emergencies, such as a heart attack or near drowning, in which breathing or heartbeat can be brought back by pressing the chest of the person with hard and fast chest compressions to get the heartbeat re-started.

At an awareness programme conducted at Swarna Bharat Trust, Vijayawada, where a demonstration was showcased on CPR and the use of AED (Automated External Defibrillator) by doctors from the Indian Resuscitation Council Federation (IRCF), Naidu stressed the importance of knowing these life saving techniques.

Lauding the IRCF for their efforts in imparting training in basic life support, comprehensive cardiac life support and paediatric advanced life support courses, the Vice- President called upon students from medical colleges to visit nearby schools and villages to spread awareness on CPR and the use of AED.

He also said that performing CPR in time can help in emergency situations where immediate medical help is not available.

Naidu further suggested that private institutions, apartment complexes and resident welfare associations must keep an AED device ready at hand and train their members with the technique of CPR. "If people know how to perform CPR, they can save many lives", he said.

Former Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Mandali Buddha Prasad, Chairman of the Indian Resuscitation Council Federation, members of IRCF and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.