Karnataka to declare sudden deaths as notifiable disease, mandate autopsy

Bengaluru: The state health department has decided to declare sudden deaths in the state as a notifiable disease. The decision comes in the wake of numerous sudden deaths due to heart attacks being reported from across the state.

Health and Family welfare minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, while announcing the decision on Monday, said that all such deaths outside the hospitals will have to be notified to the government and that an autopsy is a must in such cases.

“Over the last few months, we have seen many cases where people suddenly collapse while walking casually or exercising. It is important to understand the cause of such deaths and hence, all such incidents will have to be reported and an autopsy is mandatory,” he said. The autopsies will help shed light on the underlying conditions behind such deaths and help analyse the situation better, he said.

The decision was taken following the report by the government-appointed expert committee which, in its recommendations noted that there is a need for a cardiac surveillance program and a national registry for sudden cardiac deaths among young adults.

Annual screening for heart diseases at school level

The health department has also decided to conduct annual screening for heart diseases among school students and government employees. “If we can detect the onset of heart disease early on, sudden deaths can be prevented. Hence, a school-level screening program will be introduced for students aged 15 years. Similarly, basic health screening will be conducted for all government employees annually,” Rao said. The private companies will also be encouraged to conduct such annual screening for their employees, he added.

That apart, CPR training programs will be increased across the state, to train more people to act during an emergency. The ‘Puneeth Rajkumar Hrudaya Jyothi’ scheme which aims to provide immediate cardiac care for heart attack patients will also be expanded to prevent such sudden deaths in the state, Rao announced.

The health department has also written to the education department to include chapters on heart health, importance of eating right and such other topics to create awareness among children. While the education department is planning to include them in the text books, starting next academic year, for now the lessons will be taught during Moral Science classes.