The Government was today called on to reduce the number of deaths from cardiac arrest by investing in life-saving school resuscitation programmes.
In its pre-budget submission to Finance Minister Brian Cowen, the Irish Heart Foundation urged politicians to save more lives by providing sufficient funding to roll out a national cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) programme for Transition Year students in all schools in 2008.
The Irish Heart Foundation's Chief Executive Michael O'Shea
An average of 5,000 people die from cardiac arrest every year, with 70% of arrests occurring out of hospital with a survival rate of just 1%.
The national charity for heart disease and stroke said after a person collapses, every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by between seven and 10%.
"It was the consensus of the members of the task force for the prevention of sudden cardiac death that basic life support and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) training should be considered a basic life skill similar to driving," said the Foundation's Chief Executive Michael O'Shea.
"A person's chance of survival can be lost because of a lack of recognition by bystanders that they are in cardiac arrest, which results in delays carrying out CPR.
"By introducing CPR training on to the schools' curriculum, we can strengthen survival rates right across the country."
The independent charity also called for the elimination of VAT on Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), the provision of 10,000 euro grants for PE equipment in all schools and a €2 increase in the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes, a move backed by the Irish Cancer Society and ASH.
PA