BENGALURU: With a spurt in cardiac arrest cases amongst youngsters lately, Manipal Hospitals has launched a novel initiative, wherein gym instructors and security guards will be trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), an emergency lifesaving first-aid procedure performed when the heart stops beating.
“There is a dire need to impart basic life support training to as many people as possible, because the best person to save one’s life during a cardiac arrest is a bystander,” said Dr Naveen Chandra, Consultant Cardiologist, Manipal Varthur Road, who along with Dr Ram Kumar Jayaprakash, consultant, Critical Care, will be holding the training.
The demise of actor Puneeth Rajkumar recently, supposedly after a workout, highlighted issues regarding the importance of gym trainers being equipped with CPR knowledge and the basic use of Automated External Defibrillator. “In the West, several thousands of lives are saved as most citizens know how to give CPR,” added Dr Naveen. He explained that participants will first be taught what a heart attack is, and they will learn when and how to exactly initiate CPR on mannequins.