CPR vital to saving lives

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: More than 93% of cardiac arrest victims die before they receive in-hospital treatment because bystanders do not know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
This prompted the National Heart Association of Malaysia to organise its first free Public CPR Education Programme yesterday
“CPR in the first four minutes of a sudden heart attack gives a person a 40% chance of survival while waiting for proper medical aid and can prevent brain damage due to lack of oxygen. Training more people on CPR can make a significant difference for cardiac arrest victims,” said project leader Dr Chee Kok Han.
Apart from heart attack cases, CPR is also vital for emergencies such as choking, drowning, or a lack of pulse.
The association found that 45% of physicians and 80% of nurses were unwilling to perform CPR for various reasons including fear of performing CPR wrongly, distaste for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and unfounded fear of contracting disease from the victim.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said a lack of awareness and access to free courses left millions of Malaysians ignorant about how to perform CPR and urged the public to learn CPR from first aid organisations such as St John Ambulance Malaysia and the Malaysian Red Crescent Society.
“Around 70% to 80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home. This is where you and I, and the public can save a life through simple techniques such as CPR,” he said at the programme launch at KLCC Convention Centre yesterday.
All schoolchildren – not just Red Crescent and St John Ambulance members – must know CPR, he said.
The one-day progrxamme themed “Give the Gift of Life, Today” was organised in conjunction with the association's 12th Annual Scientific Meeting
It involved 400 participants axs on cardiovascular health and CPR as well as videos of CPR demonstrations.