January 18, 2019 was like any other mild-winter day in Mumbai and as I proceeded with post-breakfast ritual of perusing the day’s ‘Times of India’, a news item caught my eye. It pertained to an occurrence in Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai, the day before. An acclaimed architect Mr Prem Nath, 77-year old, was walking on a Bandra street when he felt extremely uneasy and sat on the ground. Within seconds his heart stopped beating and he lost consciousness. Prem Nath had suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
As good fortune would have it, businessman Samir Firasta who was passing by knew exactly what to do. He knelt beside the prone victim and began giving him Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR, for short). Samir also knew that 900 metres away in Otters Club an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED, for short) was available and as he continued with the rapid chest compressions on Prem Nath, the AED was brought to the street location. Two shocks by the AED revived the victim who was quickly shifted to a hospital. After a bypass surgery, Prem Nath leads a normal life today.
The above-referred news item left a lasting impression with me. A simple procedure lasting some 15-20 minutes had saved a valuable life. This spurred me to explore the subject further. As I delved deeper, it was shocking to note that over 10 Lakh people die due to sudden cardiac arrest and 98% of Indians are unaware of CPR and defibrillation. CPR and AED could give a new lease of life to over 50% of those victims.
But the crucial lesson from the above episode was that Samir had undergone training in conducting CPR and handling AED. So, the key lies in generating awareness among people and getting them trained. It is true that organisations like Indian Red Cross Society and St John Ambulance do offer CPR classes as part of a first-aid course. Hospitals too have been conducting camps in-house as well as in the vicinity of their locations. However, there has been not much publicity to generate awareness and rope-in general public. I felt that the whole eco-system needs to be structured and thus was born the idea for ‘CPR Saves Life’ campaign and this website. Thanks to the valuable insights provided by our Advisors and the assistance and co-operation of IRCS, SJA, NGOs and other organisations I am confident that the campaign will be a resounding success!
Jerome Quadros
Founder