I showed a doctor the viral video of IAS Yashpal Garg giving CPR to a man and he was aghast

This is completely absurd -- was the first response of cardiologist Mukul Misra, when I showed him the viral video of Chandigarh Health Secretary Yashpal Garg giving CPR (cardiopulmonary resusciation) to a man who was sitting on a chair.

On January 18, a video went viral on social media, in which IAS officer Yashpal Garg, was seen giving CPR to a man, who was later identified as Janak Lal.

While many people initially lauded the efforts of Yashpal Garg in apparently saving the life of a person, many doctors, after seeing the video, pointed out that the technique was flawed to say the least.

Here's the viral video:

I will gv this IAS officer d benefit of doubt& say,probably his intentions were good. But this is exactly d wrong way to give a CPR. A CPR is almost never given to a conscious pt. And he must be laid flat on a surface before CPR. Glad that no harm/organ damage happened from this. pic.twitter.com/P13xDN0nMt

— Dr Jaison Philip. M.S., MCh (@Jasonphilip8) January 19, 2023

So, what really went wrong?

DailyO spoke to Dr Mukul Misra, Chairperson of Chandan Heart Institute, Lucknow; formerly Professor and Head, Department of Cardiology, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. 

Absurd: The first flaw Dr Misra pointed out was that the person who was being given the CPR was sitting on the chair. "Aise pressure jaayega nahi. Ye to mazak kar raha hai (The pressure is not being transmitted to the heart. He is just pushing the chair backwards, this is a joke.)," Dr Misra said. 

"That's why I say what this man is doing is absolutely absurd. If you have to perform a cardiac massage, the first thing to do is to lie him down straight on a hard surface. Even if it's a bed, it should be hard, so that the cardiac pressure is transferred to the heart.

• The next step is to check whether he is breathing or not, or whether he is responding to what is being said around him.
• For that, you need to check the carotid artery of the neck.
• Then, expose the chest of the patient. 
• Now, using the heel of the hand, put it on the breast bone (sternum) and press it, ensuring that the elbows should not be bent.
• "The pressure should be such that the elbows don't bend and within 1 minute, one should press it 60 times," Dr Misra said.

Also, if the patient is not breathing, there should be another person who breathes in through the mouth. If he starts breathing, then you stop.

• After patient regains consciousness, you need to check his rhythm. For that, you need an automatic defibrillator, to know what happened and why the heart stopped functioning. 
• If you get the rhythm, then the patient can be given a DC shock.

CPR for 5 minutes: Regarding CPR, Dr Misra said, "We need to give CPR religiously for 5 minutes. And even after that if we are not successful, it means we have lost the patient." 

"Because if the circulation in the brain is stopped for more than 4-5 minutes, then he is brain dead. Then there is no use of giving CPR to the patient," he said.

What if the pressure given is wrong: If instead of the breast bone, pressure is applied at the wrong place, then the chest bones will break. "The pressure should be equally distributed from the heel of the hand and if this doesn't happen, jeevan narak ho jaayega patient ka agar uski pasliyan toot gayin toh, wo zinda to bach jaayega lekin uski pasliyan toot jayengi (His ribs will break, if pressure is applied on the wrong area)," Dr Misra said.

So, what what was the problem with the man in the viral video: Now the question is: if the man in the viral video could regain consciousness after a flawed CPR procedure, what exactly had happened to him?

According to Dr Misra, "This might be anything but certainly not a cardiac event. Because had it been a cardiac event, the patient wouldn't be speaking. But here, the person is speaking." 

Here's a video of how to perform CPR on someone:

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