New Delhi: Former Indian Medical Association (IMA) chief K.K. Aggarwal has written to the Central Board of Film Certification seeking accurate portrayal of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in movies, saying lives can be saved if people are educated about the emergency procedure.

CPR is the most basic procedure to save a life in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest. It involves using chest compressions and artificial ventilation to maintain circulatory flow and oxygenation during cardiac arrest.

Aggarwal said films had a tremendous reach and an analysis of various movies had suggested that a large number of them depicted the revival method incorrectly. "As movies and the actors therein are major role models for the society, it is fundamentally important that these simple life-saving procedures are shown correctly," he wrote in the letter to CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi.

In India, statistics indicate, deaths due to sudden cardiac arrest are more than those from diabetes, road accidents and dementia combined.

Aggarwal said several personalities had died from sudden cardiac arrest, including former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and former Union minister Sultan Ahmed.

"It is important for every single Indian national to be trained in the technique of hands-only CPR or compression-only CPR, as this can help in saving many lives.... There is also a need to equip every health-care setting with conventional defibrillators," Aggarwal wrote. A defibrillator is a device that gives a high-energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall during cardiac arrest.

He advised people to follow three simple rules when they come across a victim of cardiac arrest: call the ambulance, check if the person is breathing or has a pulse and start chest compressions. PTI