Uninterrupted chest-compressions key to survival in cardiac arrest outside hospit...(cking the heart rhythm or using a defibr...),Health

In this study, researchers studied data from patients in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) who had suffered from cardiac arrest with a heart rhythm indicating ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachychardia. The researchers focused on the effect of the number of chest compressions paramedics administered per minute before they shocked the heart.

"People who received chest compressions 60 to 80 percent of the time during CPR did better than those who received fewer chest compressions," Dr. Idris said.

Previous animal studies have demonstrated that interruptions in chest compressions decrease coronary and cerebral blood flow. Based on further clinical and laboratory observations, the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in 2005 recommended increasing the proportion of time spent delivering chest compressions.

In 2008 the American Heart Association updated its CPR guidelines and now advocates that bystanders only perform continuous chest compressions for cardiac arrest instead of combining chest compressions with mouth-to-mouth ventilation.

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