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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> As a result, he said, "three out of every four people who witness cardiac arrests won't do bystander CPR."
And when mouth-to-mouth ventilation is given, chest compression has to be stopped momentarily, Ewy said, adding, "You're only pressing on the chest for half the time."
The heart association already appears to be leaning in that direction. It updated its CPR guidelines in November 2005, changing the ratio to 30 compressions for every two breaths, from the old ratio of two breaths for every 15 compressions.
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"This article is extremely important, because it clearly shows what we've shown in our laboratory, that chest compression is better, and people are dramatically more likely to do that," Ewy said.
There are an estimated 450,000 cardiac arrests in the United States each year. Chances that someone whose heart stops beating in a public place will be resuscitated and go on to lead a normal life range from 2 percent to 70 percent in the United States and Canada, depending on where the event occurs, Ewy said.
Existing guidelines urge all adults to take a CPR course and to call 911 for instructions about emergency CPR.
"If you call 911, you are told to do chest compression alone," Ewy said. "If you can get more people to do chest compression only, it would make a dramatic difference."
Whether the CPR guidelines are changed because of this study is almost beside the point, said Dr. Lance Becker, director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Resuscitation Science and a past chairman of the American Heart Association's Basic Life Support Committee.
"The message of the study is that any CPR is better than no CPR, and that any attempt at resuscitation is better than doing nothing," Becker said. "The good news for people is that they can feel comfortable if they do anything. Anything they do is going to help somebody."
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