A volunteer who takes heart from saving lives

FOR Tian Kai, a volunteer dedicated to promoting first aid knowledge among ordinary people, it was the ultimate experience to save a life.

Tian donated an automated external defibrillator to a gymnasium in central Beijing, which helped save a 56-year-old man from a potentially fatal heart arrest in March.

He has helped ordinary people learn how to conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use AEDs for more than two years.

Currently, less than 1 percent of Chinese adults know how to perform CPR. Meanwhile, the country only had about 15,000 AEDs installed at medical institutions and public places such as gymnasiums, airports and subways by 2018, according to the National Health Commission.

“If everyone knows how to perform CPR and more AEDs are available, more lives would be saved,” said Tian, who was patiently teaching a 6-year-old girl CPR at the National Olympic Sports Center on August 8, this year’s National Fitness Day.

According to the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, China reports more than 540,000 cases of sudden cardiac death a year, most of which occur outside of a hospital.

“When someone suffers a heart attack, the nearest person should administer first aid at once, instead of merely waiting for the ambulance,” said Jia Dacheng, an expert from the Beijing Emergency Center. “Using an AED will significantly increase the survival rate. Public awareness and peoples’ first aid skills need to be improved, something we’re devoted to accomplishing,” Tian said.

(Xinhua)