Amid cardiac arrest deaths of young, government launches CPR drive

NEW DELHI: Health ministry Monday launched a nationwide CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) awareness drive, amid concerns about people falling ill and dying due to sudden cardiac arrest . The initiative will be led by all leading medical institutions.

Inaugurating the campaign, Union health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said the vision behind the drive is to ensure every household, school, office, and public space has at least one individual trained in this lifesaving technique. " Cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of sudden deaths in India, with nearly 70% of such cases occurring outside hospitals where immediate medical aid is unavailable. In these critical moments, timely administration of CPR can significantly improve survival outcomes," she said.

Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest, according to American Heart Association . A recent study in the British Medical Journal found that a person administered CPR within a minute of cardiac arrest has 22% chances of survival while one who gets it after 39 minutes has 1% chance of survival.