Most people still sprinkle water on the face or slip in a Sorbitrate tablet under the tongue if someone collapses in front of them. Very few know how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that is more effective, doctors said at an awareness meet on cardiac health in the city on Monday.
CPR can help someone survive cardiac arrest, when the heart cannot pump blood, said a doctor.
“After a CPR, the chances of a person surviving after a cardiac arrest increase manifold,” said Dilip Kumar, an interventional cardiologist with Manipal Hospital.
Manipal Hospitals trained 50 dhakis on Monday on how to provide CPR. A trained dhaki can come in handy if anyone collapses in the pandal, said doctors.
Rabindra Nath Chakra-borty, head of cardiology department at Manipal Hospital, said slipping in an isosorbide dinitrate (a drug used for heart failure) often creates more complications.
“We have seen patients who were given two or three isosorbide dinitrate. By the time they arrive at the hospital, their blood pressure drops severely and reviving them becomes tougher,” he said.
With the number of heart attack cases increasing, even among people in their 20s and 30s, training more people on CPR was essential, said Subhasis Roy Chowdhury, a cardiologist at the hospital chain.
An awareness meet on a healthy heart was organised by the Manipal Hospitals.
Air pollution has also contributed to heart attacks, said Arijit Ghosh, an interventional cardiologist. “The microparticles being inhaled because of air pollution are also contributing to coronary heart diseases,” said Ghosh.