ScottsdaleAZ.Gov

Arizona data published in the Oct. 6, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) show that chest-compression-only CPR by lay individuals is associated with better survival for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest compared with CPR that calls for chest compressions interrupted by mouth-to-mouth “rescue breaths.”

The statewide experience in Arizona, found that the overall survival of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was 5.2 percent without any bystander CPR, 7.8 percent when bystanders did conventional CPR with rescue breaths, and 13.3 percent for those receiving chest-compression-only CPR.

“This is the first report of results from an intentional effort to encourage and endorse chest-compression-only CPR to the public,” said Bentley Bobrow, MD, lead author and medical director of Scottsdale Fire Department and emergency medical services at the Arizona Department of Health Services.

He noted that the study identified three major findings:

• The rate of bystanders becoming involved with CPR for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increased significantly from 28 percent in 2005, when the statewide study began, to 40 percent by the end of 2009.
• The rate of chest-compression-only CPR rose from 20 percent in 2005 to 76 percent in 2009.
• A significantly greater percentage of cardiac arrest victims survived in the chest-compression-only CPR group (13.3 percent) compared to conventional CPR group (7.8 percent).

In June 2008, Scottsdale Fire Department staff and volunteers began offering free training to the community as part of the Save Hearts in Arizona Research and Education (SHARE) program. To date, more than 3,600 people have been trained on how to perform Hands-Only CPR and use an AED.

To register for an upcoming training, visit www.scottsdaleaz.gov/fire/HandsOnlyCPR or call (480) 312-8000.

Watch the video press release from JAMA featuring Scottsdale Fire Department: http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=jama_3759