Daegu City's 'Heartbeat Project' First Case... Apartment Cardiac Arrest Patient Saved

Apartment security guards registered as 'Dandi Supporters' receiving training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] Daegu City's 'Respond! Heartbeat Project,' the first in the nation where the public and private sectors join hands to secure the golden time in case of cardiac arrest patients, has produced its first revival case.

According to Daegu City on the 15th, on the 21st of last month, in an apartment in Dalseong-gun, a wife who found it strange that her husband, who should have been preparing to go to work at that time, did not wake up no matter how much she tried, reported to 119.

The 119 comprehensive situation room, upon receiving the report, recognized the cardiac arrest situation and sent a text message (VMS) alerting the cardiac arrest situation to the apartment. Soon after, an office worker at the management office who received the contact provided emergency treatment using an automated external defibrillator (AED), contributing to securing the golden time for the cardiac arrest patient. Currently, Mr. A has been discharged from the hospital and returned to daily life.

This measure is the first achievement of the 'Respond! Heartbeat Project' promoted by Daegu City, inspired by the mandatory installation of automated external defibrillators in apartment complexes with more than 500 households.

When a cardiac arrest patient occurs in an apartment complex within the jurisdiction, if the first witness reports to 119, a text message is sent to the 'Dandi Supporters' within the apartment complex simultaneously with the dispatch of the 119 ambulance team. This system secures the golden time for cardiac arrest patients by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and applying an automated external defibrillator before the 119 ambulance team arrives at the scene.

Since 2016, Daegu City has conducted education on the importance of emergency treatment by the first witness, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, application of automated external defibrillators, and the operation method of the project for 3,301 people including apartment management workers and resident leaders in 479 complexes related to this project.

Among them, 2,174 people including apartment management workers and resident leaders in 379 complexes are active as 'Dandi Supporters.' According to Daegu City, the accumulated results of responding to 106 cardiac arrest situations have led to the first revival case.

The protagonist of the previous case expressed gratitude, saying, "If it were not for the prompt and accurate emergency treatment by our apartment management office staff, this ordinary happiness we enjoy with our family now would not have been possible."

Jungbae Park, Director of Daegu Emergency Medical Cooperation Promotion Team (Department of Emergency Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital), said, "In the unprecedented disaster situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this case shows that the organic emergency medical system among citizens, 119, and hospitals in Daegu was working well," adding, "This was possible because many citizens participated in the belief that there is no value more precious than life in any situation."

Jaedong Kim, Director of the Daegu City Health and Welfare Bureau, said, "We will continue to make efforts to strengthen on-site response capabilities in emergencies through public education and to establish an emergency medical safety net."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.