34 commended for helping to save lives in cardiac arrest cases
SINGAPORE – Mr Lin Guang Min recalled being “pretty overwhelmed” after attending to his first emergency case of cardiac arrest earlier in 2023.
Both Mr Lin and Mr Jeremy Ang responded when they heard the alarm on the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) myResponder app after 5.30am on March 13 when Mr Seah, a 70-year-old, suffered a cardiac arrest.
The app issues alerts when someone is having a cardiac arrest within 400m of their location, and indicates where nearby defibrillators are located.
Mr Lin and Mr Ang are among more than 151,000 people who have downloaded the app and registered as community first responders.
For their role in successfully resuscitating Mr Seah, Mr Ang, a school principal, and Mr Lin, an engineer, were among 34 recipients of Survivor Awards Singapore 2023 at the Singapore Heart Foundation’s (SHF) Project Heart 2023 event on Saturday.
The recipients – comprising community first responders, dispatchers, firefighters and paramedics – had a hand in resuscitating casualties of cardiac arrest in the community.
Mr Lin, 42, said: “When we arrived at Mr Seah’s home, he was unconscious on the floor in his bedroom and his daughter’s fiance was being guided on the phone to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). We took over and did CPR until SCDF arrived to take him to hospital.
“I was pretty overwhelmed as this was my first case. It is fortunate Jeremy was there and we were very glad that Mr Seah managed to get his pulse back, as this meant his chances of survival are better.”
Mr Ang, 44, said: “We took up the CPR training because we didn’t want to find ourselves helpless when someone around us suffers a cardiac arrest.
“Early CPR and defibrillation are key for survival.”
Speaking at Saturday’s Project Heart, an annual event to mark World Restart A Heart Day, Assistant Professor Ching Chi Keong noted that “immediate application of CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) can increase a cardiac arrest victim’s survival rate by as high as 50 per cent”.
“This emphasises the need for all of us to respond to cardiac emergencies instinctively and decisively. We must ensure that no life is lost because of a lack of courage or action.
“Yearly, only 22 per cent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases survive, and more needs to be done,” he added.
Prof Ching, who is assistant honorary secretary of SHF and chairman of SHF’s Heart Safe committee, said: “Back in 2011, bystander CPR was at a low 22 per cent, while bystander AED usage was a mere 1.8 per cent. Today, bystander CPR is as high as 60 per cent and the bystander AED usage is close to 10 per cent.
“However, the challenges of an ageing population call for a more heart-safe Singapore – one where every household is adequately prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency.”
Established in 2012, Project Heart provides training on CPR and how to use an AED.
More than 1,000 Singaporeans – including over 800 students and teachers – also received CPR and AED certification on Saturday after completing their training.
Those who are interested in being CPR and AED trained can visit www.myheart.org.sg/course/cpr-aed-certification-course-blended-learning
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