Anna Almendrala, HUFFINGTON POST
(Huffington Post) — This is as close to a bat signal as we’re likely to get.
An app that summons trained CPR volunteers to a person in cardiac arrest has resulted in a 30 percent increase in patients receiving the lifesaving technique before first responders arrive, according to a recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine. The experiment, which was conducted in Stockholm, Sweden, could provide a blueprint for other cities that want deploy CPR volunteers to cardiac arrest victims.
The Background
About 92 percent of the people who have sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting will die, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous research shows that receiving chest compression and rescue breaths from a bystander before EMTs arrive can improve the odds of survival.
Currently, according to the CDC, only about 30 percent of cardiac arrest patients receive bystander CPR, and this marks the first time that researchers have significantly been able to increase rates of CPR use for people who need it most, the study’s lead researcher noted.
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