Newswise — Thousands of people die every year because people are not carrying out life saving CPR on cardiac arrest victims before emergency services arrive, according to new research from the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
The shocking figures, released today on Restart a Heart Day, coincide with the largest ever CPR training event of its kind where more than 100,000 people will be taught CPR in schools and community groups across the whole of the UK. This comes as part of collaboration between the Resuscitation Council (UK), BHF, St John Ambulance, British Red Cross, Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS), and the UK NHS ambulance services and fire & rescue services across the country.New research1 from the University of Warwick reveals that it is too late to save one-in-eight cardiac arrest patients as rates of bystander CPR were very low. The BHF estimates that this leads to around 10,000 deaths every year across the UK.
The study, published in the journal Resuscitation, looked at more than 11,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests attended by the emergency services and found that in 13 per cent of cases the patient could not be saved as levels of bystander CPR were very low.
Chances of survival for cardiac arrest patients are almost zero if they collapse and receive no bystander CPR until emergency services arrive.All the partner organisations want to create a Nation of Lifesavers and say that more people need to be educated and trained in life saving CPR to help improve the low cardiac arrest survival rates in the UK. Currently less than one in ten people survive.
Professor Gavin Perkins, from the University of Warwick who led the research, said: “This study shows that thousands of people are dying because it is too late for them to be saved when the emergency services arrive, and this is associated with low bystander intervention.
“The community response to cardiac arrest is a critical step in the chain of survival. Performing immediate CPR when someone suffers a cardiac arrest can in some cases double the chance of survival.”
Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Shockingly, thousands of lives are being lost every year because people lack the confidence and skills to step in and save a life when someone collapses with a cardiac arrest.
“Survival rates in the UK have remained stubbornly low for far too long and it’s time we improved them.
“We need as many people as possible to learn this life-saving skill to give them the confidence to step in and try to save a life when they see someone suffer a cardiac arrest.
“That’s why we are urging secondary schools across the UK to apply for our free training kits and help create a Nation of Lifesavers.”
Dr Andrew Lockey, from the Resuscitation Council (UK), said: “Today there will be in excess of 100,000 new lifesavers in the UK. This is a fantastic step towards training all children in CPR. That has to be the ultimate goal to give victims of cardiac arrest the best chance of survival.”
Sue Killen, CEO at St John Ambulance, said: “There is overwhelming evidence that more lives could be saved if more people knew CPR. It is vital that we teach our young people simple first aid techniques so that no one is helpless in an emergency. Restart a Heart Day is a fantastic initiative that will help thousands of children across the country learn the skill to save a life.”Joe Mulligan, head of first aid education at British Red Cross said: “At the British Red Cross we want everyone to feel confident and willing to provide help when faced with a first aid emergency. This is why we are delighted to support Restart a Heart Day, giving young people the opportunity to learn a potentially lifesaving life skill. “The benefits of first aid, including chest compressions for someone who is unresponsive and not breathing, are well recognised. This is why we are also calling for more opportunities for people to learn first aid throughout their lifetime, particularly in schools across the UK where it should be more widely taught in existing subjects or after school activities.”
Jason Carlyon, Resuscitation Manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “While these statistics are disappointing, they reinforce the need for community CPR initiatives and by going into schools to teach CPR we can give people the skills and confidence to save a life from an early age.
“Thanks to our partnership with the BHF and other agencies, we have provided CPR training to 31,000 children at 137 schools on Restart a Heart Day over the last two years and another 20,000 youngsters are due to learn in Yorkshire alone today (18 October). We are incredibly proud of the fact that that our concept for Restart a Heart Day is this year being rolled out across ambulance trusts nationally – even as far as Australia – ensuring that thousands more youngsters learn this vital skill.”
The BHF supplies free Call Push Rescue training kits to secondary schools and community groups across the UK to help people learn life saving CPR. You can find out more by visiting bhf.org.uk/cpr
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For more information please call the BHF press office on 020 7554 0164 or 07764 290381 (out of hours) or email [email protected]
Notes to editors
1) Characteristics of patients who are not resuscitate in out of hospital cardiac arrest and opportunities to improve community response to cardiac arrest. Rajagopal S., et al. University of Warwick. Published in Resuscitation, 2016.
Cardiac arrestA cardiac arrest happens when your heart stops pumping blood around your body. If someone has suddenly collapsed, is not breathing normally and is unresponsive, they are in cardiac arrest.
The most common cause of a cardiac arrest is a life threatening abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation (VF). Ventricular fibrillation happens when the electrical activity of your heart becomes so chaotic that the heart stops pumping and quivers or 'fibrillates' instead. There are various causes of VF. These can be problems with your heart, or other causes.
British Heart FoundationFor over 50 years we’ve pioneered research that’s transformed the lives of people living with heart and circulatory conditions. Our work has been central to the discoveries of vital treatments that are changing the fight against heart disease. But so many people still need our help. From babies born with life-threatening heart problems to the many Mums, Dads and Grandparents who survive a heart attack and endure the daily battles of heart failure. Join our fight for every heartbeat in the UK. Every pound raised, minute of your time and donation to our shops will help make a difference to people’s lives. For more information visit bhf.org.uk
Resuscitation Council (UK)The Resuscitation Council (UK) exists to promote high-quality, scientific, resuscitation guidelines that are applicable to everybody, and to contribute to saving life through education, training, research and collaboration.We have developed training courses for healthcare professionals in advanced life support for adults, children and the newborn. These courses are delivered in accredited centres throughout the UK and over 135, 000 healthcare professionals attend these courses each year through a network of 12,600 instructors. Through projects such as the award-winning Lifesaver interactive film and collaborative work with other organisations, we want to encourage the public to learn and feel confident in using CPR. We believe that by promoting and increasing public awareness of cardiac arrest and the knowledge of how to respond in such an emergency survival rates will improve.
About St John Ambulance As the nation’s leading first aid charity, St John Ambulance believes that nobody should die because they needed first aid and didn’t get it. Every year thousands of people die in situations where first aid could have given them a chance to live. St John Ambulance teaches people first aid so that they can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.
The British Red Cross The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies. We enable vulnerable people in the UK and abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, we help them recover and move on with their lives. www.redcross.org.uk
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS TrustYorkshire Ambulance Service covers almost 6,000 square miles of varied terrain from isolated moors and dales to urban areas, coastline and inner cities and provides 24-hour emergency and healthcare services to a population of more than five million people. The organisation receives an average of 2,310 emergency and routine calls per day and employs over 4,800 staff. Our Patient Transport Service makes around one million journeys per year transporting patients to and from hospital and treatment centre appointments and our NHS 111 urgent care service handles around 1.4 million calls. For more information about our campaign to mark Restart a Heart Day, visit http://www.restartaheart.yas.nhs.uk/day/
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