It's a procedure that can spell the difference between life and death in cases of cardiac arrest.

For the first time in Malda, higher secondary school students have started receiving practical training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that involves swiftly giving a patient chest compressions and artificial ventilation.

The unique initiative has been jointly formulated by the Malda district administration and the district secondary education department, along with the district health department, the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) and the disaster management department.

Students of Classes XI and XII of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidyamandir received the training on Tuesday in the presence of administrative, health and education department officials.

"In the case of a heart attack, the first 200 seconds are very important. If a patient is untreated within that time, brain death might occur. CPR must be given within 200 seconds so that the heart starts beating again and blood supply to the brain resumes," Malda chief medical officer of health (CMOH) Sudipta Bhaduri told students.

"There is a unique satisfaction in offering life to a person.... The CPR is a time-tested procedure to restart the heart when it stops beating," Bhaduri added.

Sudip Kundu, a doctor, demonstrated the CPR process on a mannequin.

Then, students were asked to demonstrate what they observed.

Sarafraz Islam, Ritadhi Das, Srijan Pramanik, Priyanshu Mandal and 80 other students of the Ramakrishna Mission-run school proved to be keen observers and learners.

Anindya Sarkar, the additional direct magistrate (development) of Malda, said this was probably the first time in Bengal that school students were being taught the procedure of applying CPR properly.

Experts said that CPR was something that could not be forgotten once perfectly learnt.

“This is a pilot project. We plan holding such CPR training camps in other schools also so that the energy and inquisitiveness of students can be channelised through a positive way to offer life to patients of heart attack,” said Banibrata Das, the district inspector of schools (secondary) of Malda.

Headmaster Swami Tapaharananda said CPR training would help students save lives.

“It will improve their competence to handle critical situations. We appreciate the administration and the departments concerned for coming up with such a unique initiative,” the headmaster said.