Philips and partners break a Guinness World Record in UAE

The event was held in line with the Year of Zayed, the UAE’s 47^th National Day and ahead of the World Congress of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Health that will be held in Dubai from the 5^th to the 8^th of December.  The record was broken on Tuesday, December 4^th at City Walk, Dubai.

HE Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the DHA said, “We are proud of breaking this record and in turn raising awareness about the importance of CPR and its role in saving lives. Unfortunately, heart disease remains to be the number one killer and therefore community training in CPR is important to save lives. We thank all the participants who helped us break the record and raise awareness that CPR training is a life-saving skill. We now have an additional 104 community members who are qualified in CPR training and we hope many more will come forward and undertake CPR training.”

Dr Fahd Baslaib, interventional cardiologist and CEO of Rashid Hospital said, “In a cardiac arrest, seconds count. The normal survival rate is 5 per cent but if CPR is done in less than four minutes, the survival increases to 65 per cent. However, if administered by an unqualified person it can be more harmful then helpful; therefore, CPR training is a life-saving skill that community members should learn. In addition, many cardiac arrests happen outside a hospital – like at home, or at work or elsewhere. The more people who know what to do, the more lives could be saved.”

Ozlem Fidanci, CEO, Philips Middle East and Turkey said, “Our vision is to improve the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2025. As Philips, together with our partner Arasca we are very happy to collaborate with the DHA (Dubai Health Authority) to help significantly reduce the number of deaths resulting from cardiac arrest. Sadly, losing a life due to sudden cardiac arrest is the most common cause of death worldwide. According to the WHO, cardiovascular diseases represent 30% of the total deaths in the country.  The best chance to survive a cardiac arrest is achieved when CPR and defibrillation, using an automated external defibrillator (AED) is performed within a couple of minutes from the onset of the cardiac arrest. We want people to become more familiar with CPR and AED systems, so they are aware that they can undertake action in such a situation to help save a life.”

DHA’s medical education department regularly organizes CPR training sessions, participants are informed that they should call the emergency response number first and then start CPR.