NEW DELHI: Videos of a profusely sweating and visibly unwell Krishnakumar Kunnat, or KK as he is known to the world, rushing out of a concert venue in Kolkata started going viral soon after the news of his shocking death on Tuesday night.
While questions about of lack of medical arrangements at the venue emerged as soon as the videos started circulating on social media, initial post-mortem report of the Bollywood singer indicated that he died due to a cardiac arrest, raising concerns over the lack of basic training to handle medical emergencies.
Experts blamed poor training of Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) to doctors and people in general as one of the major reasons behind the number of fatalities due to cardiac arrest.
Senior doctors say that in India, the support system which should be given to a person right after he/she suffers from chest pain, the safety arrangements and paramedics which should be provided at events where there is a large crowd need to be scrutinised.
According to Dr Sandeep Mishra, Vice-Chancellor of National Institute of Medical Sciences-Jaipur, nurses, paramedics and even doctors are not properly trained when it comes to BLS and ACLS. It was because of a lack of this training and awareness that KK had to walk after suffering a cardiac arrest whereas he should have rested, Mishra pointed out.
According to Dr Nishith Chandra, Director, Interventional Cardiology, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, in such situations, patients should be asked to lie down. “This can happen due to sudden clot formation in heart arteries. If not treated immediately, it can lead to cardiac arrest. The first thing to do is: the patient should lie down, clothes should be loosened and a dispersive aspirin should be dissolved in half glass of water. The patient should be immediately shifted to hospital,” said Dr Chandra.
If a heart attack progresses to cardiac arrest, then cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be started. “A call should be made for the ACLS ambulance which has Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), which is a life-saving device in cardiac arrest,” he added.
According to Dr Pragya Shukla, HoD of Clinical Oncology at Delhi State Cancer Institute, sublingual nitrate should be immediately given to such patients. “Any chest pain radiating to the left arm, back or jaw should be treated with utmost care,” she added.
As per reports, there were no paramedics at the venue where KK was performing and no stretcher and the singer had to walk to his car after suffering a cardiac arrest. Dr Amit Pendharkar, Director, Cardiology at Aakash Healthcare Hospital in Dwarka, says no concert should be given permission without the presence of a trained ACLS ambulance with AED.