After Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav shared a video of a traveling ticket examiner (TTE) performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on a 70-year-old conscious man in a moving train, the post drew criticism.

In a follow-up post, the minister clarified, “CPR should be stopped when a person becomes conscious or follows commands, which are signs of return of spontaneous circulation.”

However, he faced criticism from doctors, who urged the minister to remove the video as CPR should not be performed on a conscious person.

What was wrong with the video? Doctors pointed out that the train should have been stopped as soon as CPR began, and as seen in the clip, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation should have been performed only if the patient was unconscious.

What is the right time to give CPR?

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving emergency procedure performed when a person experiences cardiac arrest, resulting in a sudden loss of heart function, breathing, and consciousness.

CPR is only performed on an unconscious person whose breathing and heartbeat have suddenly stopped.

A safe environment should be found for the unconscious patient. Once you find the person unresponsive, get an automated external defibrillator (AED), a device commonly available in various public places.

According to the American Heart Association, CPR can be done in two ways:

Traditional CPR involves chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing in a ratio of 30 compressions to 2 breaths.

For adult cardiac arrest victims, medical staff should aim for a compression rate of 100–120 per minute with a depth of at least 2 inches (5 cm), but no more than 2.4 inches (6 cm), to avoid any To ensure effective resuscitation of the cause. Injury.

For bystanders witnessing an adult’s collapse, hands-only CPR is recommended. This involves chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing while another person calls an ambulance.