CPR Training Event Sets Guinness Record in India

Early in November, the American Heart Association helped set a second Guinness World Record around CPR training. The AHA was the training partner for the event, which now holds the record for most students trained in CPR in eight hours, organized by the Indian Medical Association (Kochi), Angels International Foundation, the District Administration and the District Legal Services Authority.

At the event, titled “Heart Beats 2019,” 28,523 school children were trained in Hands-Only CPR. The training was led by Dr. Sachin Menon, AHA ECC Consultant Regional Director, Dr. Venugopalan P P, AHA Regional Faculty Member and Dr. Ajith V, AHA Instructor. Every hour, they trained around 4,000 children using 400 medical students from the following medical colleges in Kochi – Sree Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin medical College, MOSC medical College and Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute & College of Nursing.

They were supervised by 80 stewards, who were AHA trained individuals, either instructors or providers.

According to Dr. Menon, the opportunity to teach the life-saving skill of Hands-Only CPR epitomizes the American Heart Association’s mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. “Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time and most often occurs in the home or public places,” said Menon. “Through this event, we’ve added more than 28,000 lifesavers to our communities.”

Last December, the Association was part of setting a Guinness World Record for the most nationalities - 104 - participating in a CPR relay in Dubai.