New CPR is saving more lives

A report from Arizona Daily Star:

Paramedics using the new “user-friendly” CPR developed at the University of Arizona are reporting a dramatic jump in the survival of cardiac-arrest victims.

For the first time since UA heart scientists launched an all-out effort to get the new CPR adopted worldwide, a formal study of paramedics using the technique has proved it saves significantly more lives — nearly triple the survival rate.

Unveiled three years ago in Tucson, the new CPR calls for hard and fast chest compressions as the first and only priority to revive any adult who has collapsed from cardiac arrest.

When done by untrained bystanders, only chest compressions — at least 100 a minute — are required, with no need for mouth-to-mouth breathing that often confuses and discourages people from trying CPR.

When done by trained professionals, such as paramedics and doctors, the technique calls for continuous chest compressions first, without interruption.