Paramedics undergo CPR training in the UAE. Sammy Dallal / The National
Paramedics undergo CPR training in the UAE. Sammy Dallal / The National
Paramedics undergo CPR training in the UAE. Sammy Dallal / The National
Paramedics undergo CPR training in the UAE. Sammy Dallal / The National

Dubai to train thousands of volunteers in CPR to reduce cardiac death rates


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Dubai will distribute 10,000 defibrillators across the city and train thousands of people in CPR with the aim of dramatically reducing death rates for sudden cardiac arrests.

At present, the global average survival rate for people who have sudden cardiac arrest and who are not in hospital is 5 to 10 per cent. The emirate seeks to increase the local survival rate to 65 per cent.

On Sunday, Dubai Health Authority signed an agreement with the American Heart Association to organise cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and distribute the defibrillators.

Dr Fahad Baslaib, consultant interventional cardiologist and chief executive of Rashid Hospital, said the authority was taking a three-pronged approach to improving survival rates. The first is to train as many volunteers as possible to administer CPR.

The second is to provide automated external defibrillators across the city. The third stage is the launch of a mobile app that will show its user where the nearest CPR-trained professional is and also the nearest defibrillator.

A defibrillator delivers an electric current to the heart and buys the patient survival time. Every second after a heart attack is crucial and medical help needs to reach the patient within four minutes.

Doctors previously told The National that people as young as 28 were having heart attacks in the UAE. The onset of cardiovascular disease is 10 years earlier here than in western countries.

Men and women in the US or Europe are considered at risk for heart attacks from between the ages of 50 and 60, but in the UAE, it is between 40 and 50.

Doctors said this was due to increased levels of smoking and diabetes in the country.

Authorities in Dubai are hoping to avoid fatal heart attacks with this initiative.

To date, more than 23,000 volunteers have been trained in CPR by affiliates of the American Heart Association.

“Excellent cardiac care should be the standard for everyone, said Zehra Al Hilali, Mena regional director of the American Heart Association. “By working together, we can create more scalable, lasting and impactful solutions.”

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Based: Muscat

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Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh122,745

On sale: now

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