The public presentation of the Salvar Mais Vidas Civic Movement occurred on April 2nd at around 4 p.m., at the David Ferreira Amphitheatre (A52) inside the Egas Moniz Building at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon.

Professor Fausto Pinto welcomed all in attendance and presented his and FMUL’s support for this movement. As stated by the professor, “all of us, when questioned, would prefer to die suddenly and painlessly”, but the question that remains is the precociousness of this death. “One of the greatest objectives of medicine is, specifically, to prevent this premature, inappropriate and sudden death”, he says.

After the sudden death of João Boavida, an actor who died of a cardio-respiratory arrest, his brother Gabriel Boavida was faced with a series of realities while trying to rebuild from the tragic moment, such as:

• In Portugal, the survival rate of a cardiac, sudden death situation is below 3%.
• One person dies per hour due to cardio-respiratory arrest, which affects 10,000 people per year;
• There are 2 defibrillators per every 10,000 inhabitants.

The Salvar Mais Vidas Movement is composed of a group of citizens aiming to raise awareness of the necessity to better prepare the country’s response to medical emergencies, namely in situations of cardio-respiratory arrest. This group also fights to guarantee that a third of the population is trained in basic life support (using an Automated External Defibrillator, AED) and that, before 2030, there is an increase in the survival rate of cardiac sudden death.

“This reality is already changing.” This is how the actor and project supporter Heitor Lourenço starts his presentation of this Movement with Gabriel Boavida and his team as the great mentors for this change. This session started with a minute of silence to pay homage to all of the Portuguese victims of cardio-respiratory arrest.

The table was complete with several important people. Gabriel Boavida, the project’s coordinator, Dr. Francisco George, President of the Portuguese Red Cross; Professor Fausto Pinto, Director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, cardiologist and member of the Advisory Board of the Salvar Mais Vidas Movement since February 21st; Dr. Basílio Horta, President of the City Council of Sintra; Dr. Luís Baquero, cardiothoracic surgeon and coordinator at the Cardiothoracic Surgery and Circulation Department of the Red Cross Hospital and also Dr. Francisco Velez Roxo, President of the Board of Administrators at the Fernando Fonseca Hospital.

Dr. Luís Baquero said “we all have the civic duty of caring for the ones alongside us, whether we know them or not, we should be walking towards a more altruistic society”.

Dr. Francisco George focused on the mortality rate before the age of 70, since 1 in every 5 Portuguese citizens does not reach this age. Around 708 thousand people die every year due to cardiac failure before the age of 70. It is urgent to prevent the tendency for cardiac sudden death by improving the eating and physical exercise habits. When facing a situation of cardio-respiratory arrest, the common citizen must know how to approach the patient, which translates into the need of divulging first aid practices and corresponding training. “We need to know how to provide first aid help”, he says. It would be a great idea to have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) at the entrance of a large building, a cinema complex, a mall, a school, where everyone knows where it is and what to do when facing a case that requires an intervention of a defibrillator.

Dr. Francisco Velez Roxo spoke about the start of activity of the Emergency and Reanimation Medical Vehicle (Viatura Médica de Emergência e Reanimação [VMER]) at the HFF. Before its existence, “the ambulances attending to a situation of cardiac sudden death would come from Lisbon or Cascais”. In 2017 VMER had around 3,500 runs, mainly concentrated around Sintra and Amadora, which proves the need for such service. Concerning the cost of this VMER, the President of the Board of Administrators at HFF says the amount is “absolutely insignificant considering the results achieved”, where the amount is 500 thousand euros per year divided between equipment and human resources.

Dr. Basílio Horta says the district of Sintra has 420 thousand inhabitants. He further mentions that “the basic life support had been forgotten” and that “in health, as an essential necessity, there should be no restrictions”. VMER cost 500 thousand euros and its preparation took around 6 months. “It is also the life support transport means with more runs, which shows just how necessary it is”. There are defibrillators at municipal buildings, schools and fireman units, and a lot of people have been educated and provided with training. “Is anything more important than saving lives?”

The man responsible for the existence of this movement, Gabriel Boavida, said “it was a cardio-respiratory arrest, one of the 10 thousand occurring annually in Portugal”. “We have the lead role, we are part of this link in the aid provision chain”, he says. The change in Sintra occurred partly due to the Defibrillation Municipal Plan, which started at schools, “since this is where we develop the future civic society”.

You can also be a part of this change by signing the Manifesto here

You can obtain more information about this Movement here

E-mail address: geral@salvarmaisvidas.pt

Cristina Bastos

Editorial Team