Dr. Shruti Shah

When a medical emergency arises, people rarely have time to prepare. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has become a problem in offices, schools, gyms, airports, railway stations, and even in our homes in India. It can often occur without warning. The first few minutes are crucial, and immediate action is essential. It's where a portable defibrillator can save lives. India has been slowly acknowledging the significance of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in recent years. There have been...

Heart emergencies arrive without warning. It looks completely normal before the emergency, and then the person collapses due to an improper beating of the heart. Sudden cardiac arrest is on the rise in India, not only in elderly individuals but also in young adults, office workers, athletes, and even those who don't seem to have any risk factors for heart disease. In those precious first minutes, luck is not the determining factor. It is choosing the best defibrillator. In recent years, there...

In Pune, a man falls in a crowded lobby of an office. Someone freezes. Some other person picks up a phone. Some third person begins to shout with request. At such a moment, every second counts. Every year India is estimated to have 7 lakh sudden cardiac arrest death. Survival decreases by approximately 10 percent every minute that defibrillation is delayed and ambulance response in most Indian cities still takes 15-20 minutes. Using AED in the first 3-5 minutes could drive a higher...