The chances of survival for cardiac arrest drop by seven to 10 per cent for every minute that the victim is not resuscitated.

According to the Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF), around 3,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in Singapore every year.

With one-third of the casualties being women, SHF has unveiled a female cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) manikin vest to help save women's lives on National Life Saving Day (Jan. 17).

Here's a closer look at the vest:

Female manikin vests to be distributed to 60 training centres

SHF will be distributing the female manikin vests to around 60 accredited CPR+AED (Automated External Defibrillator) training centres locally.

The female CPR manikin vest was launched to increase awareness for education of CPR on women.

The customised CPR vest fits most manikins in the market and will be used in CPR+AED training programmes by SHF.

A survey by SHF and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in 2020 found that six per cent of respondents hesitated to perform CPR on a stranger due to the fear of being accused of molest.

Denise Ng, who is SHF's CPR+AED Chief Instructor said:

“With this female CPR manikin vest, participants can be accustomed to doing chest compressions around the female breasts and learn how to paste the AED pads without exposing the woman’s chest.

To be frank, in such a life and death moment, no amount of embarrassment is worth refraining from saving a life. If I were to suffer cardiac arrest one day, please give me CPR!"

More bystanders stepping forward to save lives in S'pore

According to the Singapore OHCA Data Annual Report for 2011 to 2018, out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are on the rise in Singapore.

2,972 cases were recorded in Singapore in 2018.

This can be attributed to Singapore's rapidly aging population and a rising prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and other underlying heart conditions.

In 2018, about 7 out of 10 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases happened at home.

All is not lost, however.

The report also found that more bystanders are stepping forward to save lives, with the bystander CPR rate increasing almost threefold from 22 per cent in 2011 to 61.8 per cent in 2018.

Opening of new CPR certification centre at ITE College west

SHF has also collaborated with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to open a new at Spark Fitness Hub at ITE College West in Choa Chu Kang.

The Spark Fitness Hub will act as a CPR certification centre and will offer a wide range of live-saving courses.

For more information about the Singapore Heart Foundation's CPR+AED courses, you can click here.

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Top images by Singapore Heart Foundation