{"id":9187,"date":"2026-05-13T15:57:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/?p=9187"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:12:47","slug":"every-second-counts-spreading-cpr-aed-awareness-and-saving-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/?p=9187","title":{"rendered":"Every second counts: Spreading CPR\/AED Awareness and Saving Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dr. Samjhana Basnet<\/strong>
She is a life saver and an associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine at Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences\/Dhulikhel Hospital. She is a program lead for Dhulikhel Hospital- One-Stop Crisis Management Center and Basic Life Support training course. She is an active clinician, educator, and researcher with a strong commitment to improving pre-hospital, trauma and emergency care in Nepal while advocating for women\u2019s empowerment and equitable healthcare worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardiac arrest is globally recognized as a life-threatening medical emergency and a major public health concern. It can occur at any time and to anyone belonging to any age group. Despite recent advances in health care management and treatment, it is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in both in-hospital and out-of-hospital settings. Approximately 70% of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrest happens at home or in the community, thus highlighting the importance of equipping family members or the public with lifesaving skills such as Basic Life Support (BLS). BLS training is essential when trained healthcare professionals are not always nearby for resuscitation.
Cardiac arrest is a sudden onset of loss of function of the heart, resulting in circulatory failure or when the heart stops beating. According to the reports of the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrest accounts for 13-15% of all deaths in the United States and other industrialised countries. In Nepal, cardiovascular diseases contributed to 26\u00b79% of total deaths and 12\u00b78% of total Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in 2017. A cardiac arrest victim is unconscious or unresponsive while tapping\/calling him\/her with no breathing or agonal breathing and no central palpable pulse. Following cardiac arrest, the timely implementation of each critical action in the Chain of Survival increases the chance of survival in the cardiac arrest victim and each action is interlinked with each other.
The first critical step in the Chain of Survival is the identification of signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest and activation of the emergency response system, such as dialing the three-digit ambulance number 102 or alerting nearby hospitals or healthcare institutions. For every minute passed without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and delayed use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the cardiac arrest victim, the survival rate decreases by approximately 7-10%. Therefore, the mortality associated with cardiac arrest can be significantly minimised if we can ensure basic life support skills and knowledge among our healthcare providers and the general public. Many studies have suggested that sudden cardiac arrest can be reversible if we deliver high-quality CPR, use an early defibrillator, or perform cardiac pacing appropriately.
Basic Life Support (BLS) is essential for saving lives following cardiac arrest. It can be described as a series of critical emergency steps to support the patient\u2019s circulation by providing high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with or without the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and breathing support.
The Basic Life Support (BLS) training program of Dhulikhel Hospital is a structured 8-hour session consisting of a 4-hour video-based and another 4-hour simulation-based discussion and practices on mannequins, which has been held monthly on the 15th of each Nepali month from 2073 B.S. The training is designed for both medical and non-medical personnel. Its primary objective is to strengthen emergency care capacity and enhance preparedness to resuscitate cardiac arrest victims in both the community and the health care setting. The curriculum of BLS is based on the Heart and Stroke Foundation Basic Life Support course, the American Heart Association Basic Life Support Course, and the Nepalese BLS. This program aims to decrease mortality and morbidity associated with cardiac arrest through the dissemination of essential basic life support skills. The trainers of BLS are certified by either the American Heart Association (AHA) or the Nepalese BLS course. The facilitators of this program comprise of professionals from different specialities, including anaesthesia, emergency medicine, orthopaedics, surgery, paediatrics, medicine, and the nursing department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aims and Objectives of BLS training
<\/strong>The BLS course focuses on what rescuers need to know to perform high-quality CPR in a wide variety of settings. Participants will also learn how to respond to choking emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following are the objectives of this course
<\/strong>\u2022 Assess and maintain Scene Safety
\u2022 Describe and demonstrate high-quality CPR and its impact on survival
\u2022 Apply the BLS concepts of the Chain of Survival
\u2022 Enable the early recognition of signs of someone needing CPR
\u2022 Equip participants with skills to perform high-quality CPR for an adult, child, and infant
\u2022 Equip participants with the ability to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) and emphasize its importance on early use.
\u2022 Demonstrate how to provide effective ventilation by using a barrier device and a bag & mask ventilation
\u2022 Illustrate the importance of teams in multi-rescuer resuscitation
\u2022 Ensure proficiency in providing rescue breathing for an adult, child, and infant
\u2022 Perform as an effective team member during multi-rescuer resuscitation
\u2022 Describe the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction for an adult, child, and infant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basic Life Support is designed to be simple, practical, and effective, enabling both the bystanders and healthcare providers to respond immediately in critical situations like cardiac arrest and choking. The goal is to maintain adequate oxygenation and breathing until advanced medical care arrives or patients regain spontaneous circulation. At Dhulikhel Hospital, BLS training is delivered in Nepali language to ensure better understanding among Nepali participants. BLS training not only focuses on teaching physical techniques like high-quality chest compressions and rescue breaths but also on the safety of the rescuer, prompt activation of emergency care system, and the ability to stay calm under pressure in crises. These skills are especially vital in settings where emergency medical services, hospitals, or health care providers are far or limited, making trained community members a crucial part of saving lives.
One of the most vital tools in BLS is the Automated External Defibrillator (AED). An AED is a voice prompt device and, if necessary, can deliver a shock to restore a normal rhythm. An AED can detect abnormal heart rhythms such as ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), which are the common abnormal heart rhythms that can cause cardiac arrest. Early defibrillation is a key factor in improving survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest. For every minute without defibrillation, the chances of survival decrease. However, AEDs are only effective if they are accessible and bystanders know how to use them.
In Nepal, access to timely emergency medical services is often inadequate, mainly due to the lack of effective pre-hospital care systems, traffic congestion in urban areas, and limited road access in rural areas. This makes community-level knowledge and skills of BLS and the availability of AEDs all the more critical. Unfortunately, both BLS training and AED access are still relatively scarce throughout the country.
While some hospitals and urban institutions may have AEDs and trained personnel, many public spaces that include schools, offices, shopping centers, and transit hubs lack these life-saving resources. Bridging this gap requires a national effort to raise awareness, invest in AED deployment, and integrate BLS training into schools, community programs, and workplaces. With the increasing exodus of the working population to foreign countries, we must start the training programs in schools, whereby they can act as first responders whenever they encounter cardiac arrest situations.
To improve emergency care outcomes in Nepal, we can offer regular training programs in communities, health institutes, schools, and public institutions. We can also install AEDs in public areas and ensure they are clearly marked and maintained. Government and health agencies should also prioritize producing the BLS providers in the community and health care setting, and easy public access to AEDs as part of national health initiatives.
Empowering people with basic life-saving skills and tools is not just a medical requirement; it is also a social responsibility. With the right training and resources, more ordinary citizens in Nepal can become first responders, improving survival rates and saving countless lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Samjhana BasnetShe is a life saver and an associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine at Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences\/Dhulikhel Hospital. She is a program lead for Dhulikhel Hospital- One-Stop Crisis Management Center and Basic Life Support training course. She is an active clinician, educator, and researcher with …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":9189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[39,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-feature","category-flash-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/medicosnext.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DH__8031-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9190,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9187\/revisions\/9190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicosnext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}