CPR can help prevent deaths: The need for more awareness, training of this life-saving procedure Premium

Learn about the importance of CPR in saving lives, how to perform it, and the impact of immediate action.

Earlier this month, several college students and members of the public in Chennai, were given an orientation on conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation, by a private hospital. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR can revive a person who has had a sudden cardiac arrest. However, very often bystanders who may be witness to someone suffering cardiac arrest do not know what to do, and the person could then die for want of life-sustaining oxygen.  

Manzoor Shaik, head of Emergency Medicine at Dr. Mehta’s Hospital in Chennai, explains the importance of CPR and how to perform it.  A cardiac arrest can happen without warning, anywhere. “Health issues such as breathing difficulties, chest pain, profuse sweating and giddiness can sometimes worsen rapidly into life-threatening emergencies and can lead to a sudden cardiac arrest,” he says.

In India, reports suggest that annually 5 to 6 lakh residents die of sudden cardiac arrest. The actual number may be far higher, Dr. Shaik points out. In such situations, every second matters. “Immediate action by a bystander trained in CPR can double or triple survival chances,” Dr. Shaik says.  

Doctors say the chain of survival from sudden cardiac arrest begins with early recognition and activation of the emergency response and immediate, high-quality CPR that a bystander can provide. Trained bystanders can bridge the critical gap between the occurrence of the incident and the arrival of medical help. 

“Awareness and community training initiatives in Basic Life Support skills can go a long way in improving outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,” explains Dr. Shaik, who led the recent training programme for community members.

CPR is performed to stimulate the heart’s function to enable it pump blood to the vital organs. “We give compressions on the chest only to continue the oxygen supply to the brain and heart. The aim is to keep the patient going until an ambulance comes. It is very well established that if bystanders give CPR it, this improves survival outcomes of a patient who has suffered a cardiac arrest,” says A. Dhavapalani, head of the emergency department at Apollo Hospital in Chennai