Worried about the increasing incidents of sudden death in the society, Enugu state government in collaboration with the College of Medicine, Enugu state University of Science and Technology,ESUT, Monday, held a public lecture on” Sudden death: Case presentation and post- event management” ,aimed at enlightening the public on issues surrounding sudden death, preventive measures and post- management to reduce the increasing trend.
Speaking at the event which was held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, the Keynote speaker , a Consultant Physician and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine , Rt.. Rev Prof Samuel Ike, the Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese said sudden cardiac death is a natural death from cardiac causes as a result of abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of acute symptoms.
He said the key elements were prodromes , acute cardiovascular collapse ,cardiac arrest , Biological death and the symptoms included difficulty in breathing, irregular heartbeat and , chest pain..The Speaker said that acute cardiovascular collapse could be reversed if appropriate intervention is applied.
Pix: RT. Rev Prof Samuel Ike
Rt.Rev. Prof Ike disclosed that if a patient has pains in the arm and left side of chest, there is a threat of death.He advised people to always check their pulses and get a weighing scale to be checking their weight regularly .
Prof Ike also said our life styles like , smoking, hard drugs, cigarette, alcohol , lack of exercise , rigorous exercises like weight lifting ,press-up, are some of the causes of sudden death. The Cardiologist condemned the way some parents raise their children by feeding them with junk, allowing them to be indoors playing computer games, pressing phones for a long time, and not giving them the opportunity to walk around to exercise, themselves, noting that ” we have a health system that is weak “
According to the Keynote Speaker, 40% of sudden deaths were not witnessed, and every 80% of sudden death happens at home. He said the autopsy conducted in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital UNTH between 2007and 2018 showed that 13.6% of the deaths were sudden death and 8 of 29 cases of sudden death reached the hospital.
Speaking on the risk factors,, Prof Ike said Diabetes mellitus, smoking, obesity, alcohol, heart failure, Parkinson, epilepsy, hypertension, aortic, stroke were risk factors. He said men have 6% exposure to sudden death because many of them don’t seek medical care, they suppress emotions and , suffer in silence.
The Expert also said excessive exposure to cold, over excitement, depression , night time seizures,excessive eating , excessive exercise, asthma, respiratory challenges , complications in pregnancy , head injury, abortion, and other factors could lead to sudden deaths..
He adviced people to always exercise themselves , get something to shew to avoid low sugar, ensuring access to emergency care, have the knowledge of bystander Cardio pulmonary resuscitation..
Prof Ike advocated policy and systematic interventions, proper equipping of hospitals, use of mass media for awareness, basic stop-check responsiveness , and provision of emergency number to help curb the menace.
Pix: CMD, ESUT College of Medicine,Prof Ekwochi
In his presentation on “Sudden death: Case presentation and post- event management”, a Professor of Anatomical Pathology and Forensic, Prof Robsam Ohayi, advised people to go for autopsy and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death. He added that the tests will help them to know whether the cause of death is genetics or not.
Prof Ohayi appealed to state government to establish a toxicology lab as none is in Enugu .
Pix; Commissioner for Health, Prof Gorge Ugwu
In his speech , Enugu state Governor ,Dr Peter Mbah,who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Gorge Ugwu said his administration is constructing 260 Primary Health Centers in the 260 political wards in the state. He added that his administration is also constructing 300 bedded international hospital and these levels of intervention will also ensure that health personnel will be produced .
“Enugu is a model to other states. Enugu is investing a lot in the health sector. We want to leave a model in the health industry “, Gov . Mbah urged the Chief Medical Director,State University of Medical and ,Applied Sciences SUMAS ,to organise a public lecture
Pix” Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Dr Yomi Jaiye
There was a demonstration of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) presented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Yomi Jaiye. He said the state Governor has given approval for them to go to the Primary Health Centres to teach them how to perform CPR and it will also be taken down to the grassroots.
“”We are going to be working with the Commissioner on that. His Excellency is well knowledgeable and he is passionate about providing emergency management for the citizenry of Enugu state and providing effective training on Cardio pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) He has done this for the ministry of transport, he has done it among the Road Safety Corps over time, he has even gone to the ministry of Justice. He has a very good intention on that., he said.
Dr Jaiye added that the Governor had approved that they teach those at the PHCs, go to grassroots and teach them and everyone will learn one thing or the other, the chest compression, that’s why they brought people from Lagos to come and teach it.
The Special Adviser said that the training will be a continuous thing , they will take it to the market. He added that the public lecture will be held twice a year and that SUMAS will also hold their own public lectures within thrg.
Pix: VC ,ESUT, Prof Okolie
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Prof Aloysius Okolie said it is not only cardiac arrest that can lead to sudden death. He added that poverty, depression could also cause sudden death.
He congratulated the organisers of the event, saying the University will always encourage public lectures. The Vice Chancellor said ESUT now operates with a calender and that calender must be respected.
Pix: Provost, ESUT College of Medicine ,Prof Ekwochi
Earlier, in a welcome address, the Provost, College of Medicine,Prof Uchenna Ekwochi, lamented that the College had been a victim of sudden death, having lost a student and staff as a result of sudden death.
He described the topic as apt, noting the topic is something that affects everybody. “It had occured in the church, school, on the street, field of play, home. We are prepared to teach you what can remedy a situation that seems hopeless,” he said.
Pix: NMA Chairman, Rotarian Dr Sunday Okafor
Speaking with newsmen, the chairman of the Enugu state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association ( NMA) Rotarian Dr Sunday Okafor said they came to put heads together and to enlighten the public on the menace of sudden death and to see how to address the menace.
He disclosed that a lot of reformation had been carried out in Enugu state and they were happy about that. “Our public health facilities are being remodelled from the Primary Health Centers to Tertiary level and the state Governor has provided necessary support to make the health facilities to thrive
On funding , he said there is a Medical Emergency Committee that is supposed tto be accessing the Basic Health Provision fund and that the State Governor , Peter Mbah has approved the reconstitution of the State Medical Emergency Committee so that will they will have a legal backing to be able to access the funds . With that in place, emergency cases could be attended to and medical personnel could access their payment from the provide funds.
The public lecture was well attended and educative.
Author; Maureen Ikpeama