Doctors in the city say deaths due to cardiac arrest, mainly in the young, indicate a great lack of awareness about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other life-saving techniques.
Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya’s son Vaishnav collapsed late on Tuesday while having dinner at his home in the presence of family members. Sources say CPR was not performed on him before he was brought to the hospital. Doctors at a private hospital where the 21-year-old was rushed to said cardiac arrest was the cause of death, but the underlying reason for arrest was not revealed. A proponent of CPR for the masses, cardiologist Hygriv Rao says cardiac arrest in young people due to heart attacks is highly unlikely, but cannot be ruled out due to a myriad of reasons. He said performing CPR within minutes of a cardiac arrest can help cut down mortality risk by 30%. “Bystander CPR awareness is very important and has been shown to help save lives. However, awareness about it is lacking in the general Indian population,” said Dr. Rao, who has coached traffic cops to perform CPR.
CPR involves chest compression combined with artificial ventilation. In Vaishnav’s case, doctors at the hospital attempted to resuscitate him and also connected a heart pacing device, but could not revive him.
Cardiothoracic surgeon A. Gopal Krishna Gokhale said cardiac arrest can also occur due to food aspiration, when food blocks the air passages. However, aspiration was not stated to be the cause of cardiac arrest in Bandaru Vaishnav’s case.
Heimlich manoeuvre
“Awareness needs to be created not just about CPR, but also the Heimlich manoeuvre, which can expel food choking the air passages. This is commonly employed on children, but adults may also need it,” he said, while adding the importance of imparting CPR awareness to the masses.
