Malaysians’ awareness and knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are still insufficient when compared to developed countries, according to Sabah Heart Safe Chairman Dr. Shazharn Zain.
“In comparison to other developed countries, where CPR literacy in the community can reach up to 20%. In contrast, Malaysians are still unaware of the necessity of CPR education.”
“If resuscitation is performed as quickly as possible after the heart stops, a sudden cardiac arrest victim has a great chance of being revived,” he added, adding that the survival rate for collapsed victims might reach over 75%.”
Dr. Shazharn went on to say that when a person has a sudden cardiac arrest and their heart stops beating, and if CPR is not performed quickly, all of the body’s organs begin to suffer damage within minutes.
According to CPR rule: 4 minutes of ‘golden time’, performing CPR during the first 4 minutes after cardiac arrest occurs might be the difference between life and death.
“This is why we should make sure that our community has a high number of CPR providers.”
“A frequent misconception is that sudden cardiac arrest primarily happens in elderly heart attack patients,” Dr. Shazharn explained. “However, it may occur at any age and from a variety of different reasons, including electrocution, drowning, choking, and even poisoning.”
Queen Elizabeth Hospital II held the first mass community CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training session to teach more people in Sabah about life-saving skills.
At the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex, 749 people were trained to perform CPR and use an AED during the session.
Sabah Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister, Datuk Frankie Poon officiated the event.
Source: nst.com.my
