Life Saving Treatment

The media often reports about people who die from "massive heart attacks," reinforcing the mistaken notion that nothing could have been done to save those people. In reality, these sudden deaths usually represent Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), a condition that can be treated successfully through early intervention with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillators.

Unlike many other medical conditions, survival from SCA depends on immediate intervention by bystanders, typically laypersons with no medical training who lack an understanding about their vital role in determining whether SCA victims live or die. Consequently, only seven percent of SCA victims survive in the U.S., when as many as 20 percent or more could survive if they were treated in a timely, effective manner.  

The American Red Cross has developed a Cardiac Chain of Survival which consists of a sequence of steps that are activated in response to an emergency in which a victim suffers SCA. The steps are listed below; each one is critical:

• Early recognition and early access - an emergency call by a bystander to 911 or the local emergency number
• Early CPR - keeps oxygenated blood flowing
• Early defibrillation - delivers electrical current to the heart with an automated external defibrillator (AED)
• Early advanced life support - transitions care to a team of professionals who arrive on the scene and take over by providing advanced support

CPR consists of a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths. Chest compressions help to circulate oxygenated blood to the vital organs. Rescue breathing supplies the brain and blood with oxygen until advanced medical personnel arrive and take over.

Automated External Defibrillator

Defibrillation delivers electrical current to the heart with an automated external defibrillator (AED). AEDs are a key component in the Cardiac Chain of Survival. For every minute that a person in cardiac arrest goes without being defibrillated, the chances of survival decrease by 10 percent.

CPR works to temporarily circulate blood to vital organs; however, CPR cannot restore a patient's heart to a healthy rhythm. The American Herat Association states that the definitive survival treatment for a SCA victim is a defibrillation shock. Published studies have proven that early defibrillation, within the first few minutes of SCA, can save up to 74 percent of victims.