Jodhpur, Aug 13 (IANS): Shaken by his son's death from cardiac arrest, a retired government doctor has taken it on himself to spread awareness about cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that needs to be administered in the "golden hour" after an attack before the patient is rushed to hospital for specialised treatment.
"I lost my elder son Shailesh, 40, due to cardiac arrest a few months back. He was a software engineer in Pune. Since then, I have decided to spend the rest of my life to explain the difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest and to educate people on the CPR technique," Rajendra Tated, 69, who retired from the Department of Preventive & Social Medicine (PSM) at Jodhpur's S.N Medical College, told IANS.
"With CPR, a number of lives, especially those of cardiac arrest patients, can be saved," Tated added.
"About 92 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital, but statistics prove that if more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved," the American Heart Association says on its website, adding that immediate CPR can double, or even triple, a victim's chance of survival.
Tated said in the case of a heart attack, the flow of blood to the heart is blocked, while in cardiac arrest, the heart usually malfunctions and unexpectedly stops beating.
"I hold demonstrations on a dummy at various places and I also write to various organisations and associations expressing my desire to hold such camps," said Tated, who has travelled as far as Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, 900 km away, to spread his message.
"The response from these associations has so far been encouraging and I must have given demonstrations to hundreds of people so far", he added.
"I also distribute leaflets to educate people on CPR and cardiac arrest and heart attacks", he added.
"My younger son Abhishek, 37, who is also a qualified doctor, helps me in this effort," Tated said.