A woman whose brother died after a cardiac arrest has led a CPR training session for her community. 

Samina Kiyani lost her brother to a "sudden" cardiac arrest when he was just 21-years-old. 

He died in the family home after attempts by his parents to perform CPR failed, according to Samina.

She said: "It was a time factor - it was in the house, my parents were in different rooms and he was in the living room. They applied CPR [...] It was beyond our control.

"The time framing is critical."

She described her brother as "the most charismatic, charming person - and funny. He was just a joy to be around."

East London Advertiser: A St John Ambulance volunteer demonstrating CPRA St John Ambulance volunteer demonstrating CPR (Image: Resuscitation Council UK)

Despite their seven-year age gap, the brother and sister were said to have an "extremely close bond".

Samina said: "Not only was he my youngest brother, I helped my mum when he was a baby - changed his nappy, fed him, helped him learn to read and write.

" I remember thinking when he was around 12 years old, 'how has he got so many friends?' I could count all my friends on one hand.

"He was a real people's person. People loved him."

After losing her brother, Samina set her mind to helping others be better prepared if they are ever faced with cardiac arrest incidents. 

She said: "It has taken a long while healing around my brother's passing.

"I find myself this year in a place emotionally and mentally where I want to honour and celebrate his life, and not be feeling in a place of disempowerment around something I was not in control of. 

"I can't bring him back."

Samina organised an event alongside St John Ambulance at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel with free translated CPR and defibrillator sessions, to help train people in life-saving skills.

The event was aimed at her local south Asian community, who often face a greater risk of cardiac arrest with less access to lifesaving skills. 

Figures from the Resuscitation Council UK show that more than half of people (59 per cent) living in ethnic minority communities in England feel they lack the knowledge to perform CPR, which is significantly higher compared to the rest of the UK.

East London Advertiser: Samina was helped by St John Ambulance to provide the free training. Samina was helped by St John Ambulance to provide the free training. (Image: Resuscitation Council UK)People from these communities are statistically more likely to suffer a cardiac arrest, St John Ambulance said. 

Samina hopes to extend the training to other communities in the future, to give more people the powers, skills and confidence to step in.