- Most of the victims were not obese and the youth were living in fear of cardiac emergencies.
- Around two lakh school and college teachers will be trained to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save lives.
Gandhinagar: Gujarat Education Minister Kuber Dindor revealed that 1052 people have died due to heart attacks in the state in the last six months, and 80% of them were between 11 and 25 years of age.
Heart attack statistics
According to Dindor, the state of Gujarat has witnessed a surge in heart attack cases in the last six months, especially among the young population. He said that 1052 people had lost their lives due to heart attacks in this period, and about 80% of them were between 11 and 25 years of age. He said that the students and youth who died were not obese and that they had no apparent risk factors for heart disease.
He also said that the 108 ambulance service, which provides emergency medical assistance, receives more than 173 cardiac emergency calls every day, with youth being the biggest victims. He cited examples of how people died while playing cricket or during Garba, a traditional dance festival, in the last six or seven months.
CPR training initiative
Given the increasing number of heart attacks, Dindor said that the state education department has decided to organize CPR training camps for around two lakh school and college teachers. He said that CPR is a life-saving technique that can be performed by anyone to restore the blood circulation and breathing of a person who has suffered a cardiac arrest.
He said that the CPR training camps will be held in 37 medical colleges across the state between December 3 to 17. He said that around 2,500 medical experts and doctors will be present in these camps to provide training to the teachers. He said that the participants would also receive certificates after completing the training.
He urged the teachers to participate in this initiative and learn the skills to save lives. He also appealed to the public to take care of their health and avoid stress and anxiety.