Half a million Danes struggle with heart related illnesses as the University of Copenhagen (2022, 14 July) states. How well are Danish citizens educated on this topic?
By Emma Nijs and Ona Šniukštaitė
According to 2019 WHO data, Ischemia heart disease is a leading cause of death in Lithuania. What could Lithuania learn from Denmark considering the topic of administering first-aid or finding the nearest Automatic External Defibrillator.
Danish knowledge
People on the streets of Copenhagen gave their thoughts on what to do when someone passes out. Nadia from Denmark said: “At first you shake the person and ask if they can answer or not answer. And then you try to see if they have a pulse or not and if not, you do CPR and dial 112.”
Although some people are educated, they’re not always able to help them properly. Lars from Denmark shared: “Twice I’ve tried to help two men, elderly men who passed out but both times they died, actually. So I didn’t manage to help them properly.”
Danish Heart Foundation
The Danish Heart Foundation collects money for heart disease research. They have a lot of communities for people with heart diseases and relatives.
Learning how to do CPR is obligatory when you get your driver’s license in Denmark. Most of the people we interviewed learned it in a course connected with their job, hobby, school, through friends and family,…
Mette Stougård Pedersen explains: “Well, a lot of people actually know but not everyone reacts to it. That’s also what we try to teach the population. We’re having courses for all Danish people, including the people without heart diseases.”
If a person wants to find the nearest AED, they can do it on an app called ‘Mapa AED’.
App: ‘Mapa AED’. Photo: Emma Nijs
This story is for an audience in Lithuania who usually reads articles about health on https://www.lrt.lt.