The passing of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and the reason highlights the need to create an awareness about life-support training. As a cardiologist, his case reminds me of the importance of basic life support in the initial seconds to minutes to revive people who collapse. It would be naive if I say that Mr. Kalam could have been revived had he had proper Basic Life Support, but I know from experience and available evidence that the first few minutes are crucial for those who experience Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD), which accounts for over 60 per cent of cardiac-related deaths.
BLS is a simple thing to carry out and can be performed by any trained non-medical personnel. We seem to be keen to install CCTV cameras all over, but have not given thought to having automated defibrillators in public spaces. There is a 74 per cent chance of survival from SCD if life support is administered within 3 minutes of a person collapsing. The government needs to develop such a life-saving system in collaboration with medical personnel.
Dr. Refai Showkathali,
Chennai
