In a press briefing, Dr. April Anne Rivamonte-Delola, a consultant at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), said at least one person in households must know CPR as cardiac arrests may happen at home.

She said SPMC recorded 32 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in June and only 22 percent survived.

“I don’t have the statistics on how many people have undergone CPR but based on the data, around 30 percent have performed CPR in the community, outside the hospital, in previous years,” Delola said.

As part of its campaign to increase CPR training, Delola said SPMC physicians teach the first aid measure in schools and communities every July, which is CPR Awareness Month.

Dr. Dave Benedict Robles, a senior resident at SPMC, noted much hesitancy in the community regarding CPR, even among family members.

“A lot of people are scared to do it. These crucial minutes where you can do something as simple as CPR can mean a big difference to patients,” he added, adding one must know how to recognize an emergency and call for help. (PNA)