LETTER: The leading cause of death in Malaysia is cardiovascular disease, and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest accounts for a significant proportion of the fatalities.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a medical emergency where an individual's heart stops abruptly due to multiple causes.
When the heart stops beating, blood flow to the brain, lungs and other vital organs is significantly affected.
This often happens without warning and causes the individual to become unconscious and stop breathing. Death is imminent unless someone nearby takes immediate action.
Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving procedure performed by a trained person on sudden cardiac arrest victims.
It involves chest compressions and rescue breathing delivered mouth to mouth. For every minute that CPR is delayed, a sudden cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival drops by 10 per cent.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, CPR was performed immediately on all out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims.
However, during the Covid-19 era, CPR is considered a high-risk procedure as it may lead to Covid-19 transmission from aerosol generation should the victim be infected with the coronavirus.
Furthermore, people would hesitate to help a stranger for fear of contracting Covid-19.
To raise awareness on the importance of CPR during the Covid-19 era, professional groups have recommended changes to CPR techniques.
In this context, early initiation of "hands-only CPR" (CPR without mouth-to-mouth breathing) is strongly recommended.
A face mask covering the mouth and nose of the rescuer or victim is recommended to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spread.
If you encounter an individual, especially someone you know and love, who has collapsed, is unconscious, has no pulse and is not breathing, do not panic.
Start by calling 999 to get help. With prior training, you may perform hands-only CPR without knowing the victim's Covid-19 status.
There is evidence showing that hands-only CPR performed by a member of the public on an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victim is as effective as conventional CPR (with mouth-to-mouth breathing) during the first four minutes.
The American Heart Association recommends members of the public to provide hands-only CPR if they are not trained in conventional CPR and continue to do so until an emergency medical service provider arrives.
In fact, any form of CPR is better than no CPR. If available, an automated external defibrillator should be used to complement the CPR to save the victim.
People can save lives by lending their hands. You can make a difference in someone's life.
Register for the Hands-only CPR Training Course organised monthly by the National Heart Association by visiting malaysianheart.org/?p=highlights&a=1785.
You will be exposed to real-life scenarios to help recognise sudden cardiac arrest. You will learn how to perform high-quality hands-only CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator.
CPR saves lives. Learn to do it well and right. Give the victim a new chance of life.
DR YAP JUN FAI, PROFESSOR DR MOY FOONG MING AND DR LIM YIN CHENG
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and the Department of Public Health, University Malaya Medical Centre
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times