In a significant public health move, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced that all sudden deaths occurring outside hospitals will be officially recorded and notified. This measure, he said, will help researchers collect more accurate data to study the recent increase in heart attacks, particularly in the post-COVID period.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru after receiving the expert committee report on sudden deaths due to cardiac arrest and their possible link with COVID-19 vaccines, Rao said that the number of heart attacks in the state has risen by 4 to 5 percent since the pandemic. However, he said that the expert panel found no direct link between COVID-19 vaccines and these cardiac events.
Based on the panel's findings, Minister Rao announced several preventive health measures aimed at tackling the rise in cardiac events.
These include classifying all sudden deaths occurring outside government hospitals as notifiable diseases, and making post-mortem mandatory to issue death certificates in these cases, according to a release.
The government will initiate heart screenings for all school children aged 15 and above. Additionally, the Education Department has been instructed to incorporate lessons on non-communicable diseases and the circulatory system into school curricula.
The government’s emergency cardiac care program—the Puneeth Rajkumar Hridaya Jyothi project—will be expanded to cover all taluk-level hospitals.
To improve emergency response, self-operating Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machines will be installed at bus stands and railway stations. CPR training programs will also be launched for the general public.
Heart checkups and ECG screenings will be carried out for all government and contract employees, and private companies have been advised to conduct annual health checkups for their workforce.
“These steps are being taken to ensure early detection and prevention of heart-related conditions across Karnataka,” the minister said, calling for collective efforts to address what he described as a complex, lifestyle-driven health crisis.
