After IGI heart attack incident, Indian doctors appeal for CPR training in schools

| Updated: 30 July, 2024 6:03 pm IST

NEW DELHI: Doctors in India have begun to make appeal to the public to train themselves in CPR and include that in school curriculum, following the incident at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport where a passenger’s life was saved two weeks ago

Speaking to The New Indian, Dr Nityanand Tripathi, Senior Director and Head of Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh warned, “Most deaths during a heart attack happen due to ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF), where the patient becomes unconscious. If cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is started immediately and DC cardioversion is done, the patient can be saved”.

His comments assume significance with the rising cases of heart attack at public places such as gymnasiums, airports, weddings and office spaces.

“It is recommended now that BLS training should be part of education, and every public place should have automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) installed so that trained individuals can give a shock to the patient and save lives,” said Dr Tripathi.

अजमेर रेलवे हॉस्पिटल में सीनियर डीएमओ, जयपुर निवासी डॉ. प्रिया जी ने दिल्ली एयरपोर्ट पर अपनी सूझबूझ से सीपीआर देकर बुजुर्ग की जान बचाई। बुजुर्ग को हार्ट अटैक आया था।

उनकी यह सूझबूझ और साहसिक कार्य हम सभी को जागरूक करने वाला है। हार्ट अटैक आने के 5-6 मिनट के भीतर सीपीआर देने से… pic.twitter.com/4LYthc3xJF

— Vasudev Devnani (@VasudevDevnani) July 19, 2024

The sudden heart attack cases have been rising alarmingly in India, these cases are becoming extremely common amongst people of all age groups. As per estimated at least 1 to 1.5 million deaths occur annually due to heart attacks. Many of the recent incidents highlight the need for immediate response and CPR training programs.

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Recently, a 54-year-old businessman, Kawaljit Singh Bagga, died while working out in a gym in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, central Maharashtra. He could not be saved with primary treatments. In another such incident, an elderly man was saved through immediate response and CPR.

An elderly man in his 60s recently suffered a heart attack at IGI Airport, Delhi. Fortunately, a doctor was boarding the same flight and was able to attend to the patient with quick actions. In a video circulating on the internet, the doctor was recorded reviving the man who had collapsed after suffering a heart attack at Terminal 2. Her timely administration of CPR proved critical in saving his life