On Thursday, June 24th 2021, Akin Emmanuel Abayomi, a Nigerian professor who specializes in internal medicine, haematology, environmental health and biobanking who currently serves as Lagos State commissioner for health was the distinguished guest at the maiden edition and launch of the Robert Edwards Foundation in Lagos.
With the theme “Saving Hearts”, the foundation is in honour of Robert Oritseweyinmi Edwards, a highly respected entrepreneur and philanthropist who died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 48 on the 3rd of June 2014 due to lack of proper care after suffering a cardiac arrest in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Robert Edwards Foundation’s inaugural lecture focused on the theme “Saving Hearts” as part of its mission to fulfill the mission of the foundation which is to “Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death” (SCD) through awareness, education and action.
The event had renowned medical professionals as speakers including Dr Tosin Majekodunmi who is an interventional cardiologist and the chief medical director at Eurocare Multi Specialist Hospital and Dr Tobi Keeney a natural health and wellness practitioner. It was anchored by Mrs Chizor Malize the MD/CEO of FITC Nigeria.
According to the host and founder of the foundation, Mrs Adenrele Edwards, “sudden cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the abrupt loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. The condition usually results from a problem with your heart’s electrical system, which disrupts your heart’s pumping action and stops blood flow to your body.
Sudden cardiac arrest isn’t the same as a heart attack, when blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked. However, a heart attack can sometimes trigger an electrical disturbance that leads to sudden cardiac arrest”.
She went on to add that, ‘having and using an automated external defibrillator (AED)with Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within the first three minutes of a sudden cardiac arrest can increase an individual’s chances of survival by up to 75% . All it takes is a little preparation and training. Since Robert’s death, there have been countless other preventable deaths , just because people lack awareness and do not know what to do”.
At the event, founder of the foundation, Mrs Adenrele Edwards explained the mission and why the foundation was created saying, “our mission at the Robert Edwards Foundation is to create awareness and education on how to perform basic CPR and provide AED’s to places where people would typically hangout to socialise, such as bars, malls, nightclubs and event centers”.
Watch the full event below….
