It's Back to Basics to Save a Life ( If you attempt a defibrillation at that...),Health

Airports and casinos boast excellent heart attack survival rates "because there's always a defibrillator within a five-minute walk," Garza said. Security guards are trained in the use of defibrillators, and both types of facilities have excellent closed-circuit monitoring.

If defibrillation isn't available, it's best for bystanders to start providing chest compressions, the experts say. That way, the stores of oxygen still in the blood will continue to circulate and feed the body's tissues, keeping the person's body and brain alive.

"When the heart stops, it's not a problem of not having oxygen in the blood," Eckstein said. "It's a pump problem. You have to circulate that oxygen."

More information

The University of Washington School of Medicine has more on CPR.

SOURCES: Alex Garza, M.D., associate professor, emergency medicine, Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.; Marc Eckstein, M.D., associate professor, emergency medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, director of pre-hospital care, Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, and medical director, Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles; American Red Cross; American Heart Association