DUBAI // Heart specialists have called for more thorough medical checks at schools and for all teachers to be trained in CPR following the death last week of a 10-year-old boy who collapsed during a Physical Education class.
Faisal Salem Al Kaabi was rushed to hospital on Thursday after suffering a heart attack at Hatta Elementary School, but was declared dead soon after arrival.
A report released by Hatta Hospital yesterday said its initial diagnosis was "cardio-respiratory arrest of an unknown cause".
The report said Faisal had arrived "unconscious and unresponsive". He did not have a pulse and his pupils were dilated and fixed. Medics carried out "vigorous resuscitative measures", but it was too late.
Specialists suspect an underlying condition such as a congenital defect may be to blame. Signs of such defects, they say, might have been picked up if children were given more thorough medical checks at school. Pupils could then be sent for further investigation.
Dr Abhay Pande, a consultant cardiologist at the Al Zahra Private Medical Centre in Dubai, said the most likely cause of a heart attack at the age of 10 was an irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia.
He said a more rigorous medical examination might have uncovered the problem before it was too late.
"Also, many such conditions are genetic," said Dr Pande. "So parents' history should have been taken into consideration."
Dr Nooshin Bazargani, a cardiologist at Dubai Hospital, said schools should encourage parents to share all medical records so teachers could take precautions and ensure there was no excessive exertion when appropriate.
"Everyone should know how to conduct basic CPR - especially school staff," she added.
Dr Wael Al Mahmeed, the president of Emirates Cardiac Society, said he hoped the child's family would now investigate their own health.
"The parents should get themselves and his brothers and sisters checked for any abnormalities," said Dr Al Mahmeed. "Symptoms of heart issues cannot always be identified but during check-ups doctors need to listen for murmurs or echoes that can be signs and must immediately be referred for further investigation."
He added: "There should also be a training programme for the public and especially school educators on CPR because they could save a life while waiting for the medical staff to arrive."
Faisal's principal, Salim Obaid, said the boy had been rushed to the hospital "within minutes" of his collapse, accompanied by the school nurse.
Mr Obaid said the Grade 4 pupil seemed to be in perfect health after his return from the Eid break.
"There was also no forced action - no one pushed or hit him, and our camera footage proves that," said the school principal. "He attended all classes that day and was standing alone at the time this happened."
Mr Obaid said the school was shocked by the loss of the pupil, who was a football enthusiast. "He spent more time on the field than he did in the classroom," said the principal in a speech to his classmates yesterday. "He will be missed."
Tayfir Nassar, an English teacher at the school, said Faisal's classmates and teachers visited his family this week to pay their condolences. "It is fate and we are offering all our support to the parents."
Faisal was buried the day after his death in accordance with Islamic tradition. No autopsy was conducted.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
