Make CPR, AED training must to stave off cardiac arrests: Expert

Hyderabad: The death of a cricketer because of sudden cardiac arrest while playing on the ground has led to a debate, with the experts stressing the need for compulsory CPR and AED training for the masses to save the precious young lives.

Recently, a professional cricketer, Imran Patel (35) had succumbed to sudden cardiac arrest during a local league match at Garware Stadium in Pune. While batting, Patel complained to the umpires about pain in his left arm and chest, and while walking back to the pavilion, he collapsed. This is not the only case; in a similar incident, another cricketer died of cardiac arrest in September, which means two deaths in a span of three months.

Senior cardiologist and faculty in the International Training Centre at Gandhi Medical College, Dr Vijay Rao, said that this was a worrisome trend in society. He said that teaching CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and the use of AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) was the need of the hour. Dr Vijay Rao, who had worked in western countries and for over 11 years in the US, said that the awareness level in India was lower compared to foreign countries. “I worked in the US for more than a decade, and almost half the population knows about CPR and AED, whereas there is hardly any awareness about CPR in India. There is some kind of awareness, but not to the level of the western countries. If we can make AEDs available to the public where there is a lot of public activity, like at malls, multiplexes, theatres, and restaurants, we can potentially save lives,” said Vijay Rao.

The senior cardiologist said that there is a clear difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest. Heart attack occurs with ischaemic heart disease when there is a lack of blood supply in the heart, whereas cardiac arrest is sudden failure of the heart. He explained that sudden cardiac arrest can happen anytime, anywhere. Brugada syndrome and Wellens syndrome are conditions characterised by abnormalities in sodium and potassium channels in the heart. These disruptions can cause the heart muscles to suddenly stop functioning, leading to the cessation of electrical activity. As a result, the affected person may collapse, and the heart muscle may suffer damage.

According to a study, for every 90 seconds one person is dying because of cardiac arrest in the world, and about 1.8 crore people are dying of heart disease because of sudden cardiac arrest, which is more than all the cancers combined. In India, 28 per cent of all deaths are cardiac-related, and 60 per cent are due to cardiac arrest. If CPR is done in the first five to six minutes, 80 per cent lives can be saved; otherwise, with every passing minute, the chances of survival decrease.

Dr Rao said that the AEDs should be made available at all public spaces like airports, on all flights, in all Vande Bharat trains, offices, and apartment complexes, and the remedy is CPR and AED, which helps in decreasing the mortality.