Indian Medical Experts Say CPR Awareness A Big Challenge In The Country

NEW DELHI — The Indian Medical Association is working with the Indian Resuscitation Council to teach Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to the people of the country.

The association is reaching out to more than one million people for creating awareness on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — a lifesaving technique that is useful at times when the breathing or heartbeat of a person has stopped.

The association said that they need to reach out to low-income families as they need to be made aware of the medical importance of Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Building awareness on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) amongst people, especially auto drivers, police, teachers, and social service teams, is the priority, said the President of the Indian Medical Association, J. A. Jayalal.

“July 27th is observed as Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) Day,” Jayalal said.

“Indian Medical Association is working with Indian Resuscitation council to reach out to a minimum of one million people with this skill on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Let us train one person, who knows he may help one of our relatives to get back their life in the time of distress.”

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an easy skill and can be learned easily with some training by an expert instructor, said Rakesh Garg, Honorary Scientific Director, Indian Resuscitation Council.

“A blockage in the blood vessels of the heart may obstruct the blood flow to the heart. The heart muscle is deprived of oxygen supply and starts dying. This is not cardiac arrest but can lead to Sudden cardiac arrest,” Garg said.

“The victim can die if immediate (within initial few minutes) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is not given after cardiac arrest. Any bystander/layman can help to save lives by following the steps below in case they witness a sudden cardiac arrest by initiating Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — Compression Only Life Support. Indian Resuscitation Council (IRC) works on the vision of — Let us make every citizen a Live Saver.”

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has also introduced Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a foundation course, said Siddha S.C. Chakra Rao, Chairman of the Indian Resuscitation Council.

“We started a Make in India Program and developed the Indian Resuscitation guidelines,” said Rao.

“In 2018, we trained 2,25,000 lakh school children and laypersons. We are creating awareness for about 50 million people every year through social media, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, pamphlets. The National Medical Commission has introduced Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a foundation course for all 1st-year medical students. India’s Central Board of Secondary Education has included Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in their curriculum.”

(With inputs from ANI)

Edited by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Praveen Pramod Tewari