Getting yourself trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) could prove to be lifesaving for someone else.
New research shows that bystander CPR can substantially improve a persons odds of surviving a cardiac arrest.
CPR is a valuablestopgap interventionfor cardiac arrest, which is when someones heart stops beating.
Someone practicing CPR on a training dummy.© athima tongloom via Getty
The researchers found that bystander CPR was consistently associated with improved outcomes relative to no bystander CPR at all.
But they also found diminishing returns the longer it took for CPR to start.
The researchers findings are set to be presented this week at the American Health Associations annual Resuscitation Science Symposium.
CPR isnt a risk-free intervention.
That suggests that CPR may not be always recommended for people in already fragile health.
That said, studies havefoundthat even older people have a greater likelihood of long-term survival when given bystander CPR.
According to the AHA, CPR performed immediately could double or triple someones chances of survival.
Currently, however, bystander CPR isonly provided in about 35% to 40%of these cases globally.
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