As I enter 2021…

We will never forget the year 2020. To hate it and to wish it away, would mean that we are letting go of the opportunity to admit the crucial lessons 2020 taught us, including, work will go on with or without you, there is life in stillness, time moves on, no one’s indispensable, family is more important than work and career, and above all, it taught us that we had all become a part of a rat race, which was halted, within minutes, by a filament of the RNA that was non-visible to the naked eye. It also taught us, patience, empathy, sharing, caring, and living with a bare minimum for we do not need so much.

We are survivors of challenges, we thrive through the worst, we heal from losses, and we adapt very easily. These are the great lessons from the great teacher- 2020.

A change of date or year will not make all the problems vanish; it will change when our mindset changes. We look back at 2020 with utmost respect and honor. Most importantly, we offer immense gratitude, as it is gratitude that puts us in place of abundance and shifts our focus on what we have, rather than what we desire. We all have evolved, matured and grown to a new level, within just a year.

As a doctor, 2020 has made me adapt to changes, like never-before. I now understand the importance of use of technology, in order to reach out to my patients, to be connected to them, and to diagnose and treat them. Instead of in-person clinic, I learnt to make a diagnosis with video and tele-consult. The diagnostic equipment, as pulse oximeter, digital BP apparatus, and the glucometer became a household name. The most important diagnostic equipment, which found its place in clinical practice are single lead ECG, AliveCor Kardia and the Apple watch.

I take this forward in 2021 with a mindset that these devices have a huge place in clinical cardiac practice, alongwith setting up remote/home monitoring for patients implanted with cardiac devices. Remote monitoring is a way for the implanted heart device to communicate with the doctor’s clinic using a small monitor, potentially reducing the number of times the patient has to travel to the doctor’s clinic for an implanted heart device check.

Another slogan for 2021 is a campaign for prevention of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) which is a life-threatening emergency that occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. As a result, blood no longer is pumped throughout the body, including the brain. The person suddenly passes out, loses consciousness and appears lifeless. It strikes people of all ages, who may seem to be healthy, even children. SCA leads to death, if no action is taken within the first 6 minutes.

CAD and heart attack have received attention for years, but SCA, a more dangerous condition and fatal too, has been ignored. It is a common misconception that SCA and heart attack are the same thing. In reality, they are quite different. While a heart attack is described as a plumbing problem, SCA is more of an electrical problem that stops the heart. More than 90 percent patients survive a heart attack, whereas more than 90 percent will not survive an SCA.

Unfortunately, only one-third of SCA victims receive CPR from bystanders and fewer than 5 percent of victims are treated with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) before EMS arrives at the scene. But for every minute, that passes without CPR and defibrillation, the chances of survival decrease by 7-10 percent. As a result, only 10 percent of victims survive. Yet survival rates could triple if more people knew what to do when SCA strikes. In fact, tens of thousands of additional lives could be saved each year if bystanders acted quickly. Why do more people not know and use these fundamental life-saving skills? My aim for 2021 is to make SCA Awareness a campaign and spread the learning about CPR and importance of having AED at all places where there are fire extinguishers.

I salute and honor 2020 and with this mindset enter 2021…