BENGALURU: Out-of-hospital sudden deaths will be notified, and post-mortems will be made mandatory for them in Karnataka. The decision came after the health department took cognisance of the sudden death committee report by a 12-member expert panel.TOI reported on Monday that medical experts were pushing for the ‘notifiable condition’ status to gain a comprehensive understanding of the causes of sudden deaths. They said this mandate would be the cornerstone of robust research because post-mortems could then take place for brought-dead persons, and the causes of death would be more specific. This, in turn, would lead to effective health policies, they suggested.The health and family welfare minister, Dinesh Gundu Rao, addressed media persons on Monday regarding the recommendation of the sudden death committee: “Based on these recommendations, the department has decided that sudden deaths for those below 45 years should be made a notifiable incident and reported. An autopsy should be done compulsorily for sudden deaths that occur outside the hospital. This will be helpful for further analysis of sudden deaths.”An expert committee, meanwhile, is investigating the sudden deaths of 18 persons from Hassan between May and June. As most of these deaths took place weeks ago, clinical autopsy or talking to the deceased’s family and doctor would be the way forward for several of these cases, experts told TOI, just as it was done during the pandemic.While encouraging people to keep a check on their diets and lifestyle, Rao said screening will be more widespread and also held in schools. “We will introduce cardiac screening to detect congenital heart conditions when children are still young. These screenings in schools will be held for 15-year-olds or class 10 students. Our current RBSK programme will have heart screening. Govt employees, including those on contract, will be screened once a year.“Rao also added, “We will recommend to factories and private companies to hold screening of the health of all employees once a year so we can prevent heart attacks and disease from developing.”Rao said defibrillators will also be made ubiquitous in the coming days and placed in locations where trained personnel who can use them are available. Locations for these defibrillators will include bus stops, railway stations, and other public places.He added that while these decisions are made at the departmental level, further decisions n on the course of action based on the report, will be take after consultation with the chief minister.