HYDERABAD: Gopi Raj, an 18-year-old intermediate second-year student, recently suffered a cardiac arrest minutes before entering the examination centre. This is the third such case reported from the city in the last few months. Barely a month ago, a 22-year-old youth, Ekambaram, collapsed while undergoing a physical fitness test for police recruitment. In May 2018, senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreyas 21-year-old son succumbed to a sudden cardiac arrest.

Doctors ascribe a large number of these cases to genetic disorders. These youngsters often do not show any symptoms before the massive cardiac arrest, and the families are therefore, not prepared to deal with the sudden blow.

Experts suggest that as a precautionary measure, young people with genetic disorders and a family history of cardiac arrest should avoid too much exertion. Dr A Sai Ravi Shankar, interventional cardiologist at Continental Hospitals, said that genetic disorders like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome, are the principal causes of such deaths. Youngsters with any of these genetic disorders must avoid strenuous activity and severe anxiety. If a family member has any of these disorders, the siblings and children must undergo screening.

Doctors suggest that the absence of basic training in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other life saving techniques reduces the chances of survival, thus highlighting that survival is directly linked to amount of time between onset of a sudden cardiac arrest and defibrillation (administrating of controlled electric shock to restore normal heartbeat). Dr Vijay Rao Boinapally, cardiologist and CPR trainer, said that if bystander CPR is not provided, a victims chances of survival are reduced by 7 to 10% with every minute delay until defibrillation. (TNN)