Cardiac massage saves lives - even without ventilation

Lisa Vogel studied departmental journalism with a focus on medicine and biosciences at Ansbach University and deepened her journalistic knowledge in the master's degree in multimedia information and communication. This was followed by a traineeship in the editorial team. Since September 2020 she has been writing as a freelance journalist for

More posts by Lisa Vogel All content is checked by medical journalists.

Press down the chest 30 times, ventilate twice - that has been the rule of thumb for resuscitation in cardiac arrest so far. Many people don't dare to do that. A new study shows: Pressure massage alone is often enough to save lives.

Overwork and disgust

Switching between respiratory donation and chest compressions is overwhelming for many possible helpers. Others especially shy away from mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. "Many first aiders are afraid of becoming infected with a viral disease," confirms emergency physician and cardiologist Prof. Dietrich Andresen from the board of directors of the German Heart Foundation. Other potential helpers feel a general reluctance to mouth-to-mouth contact.

Mouth to mouth doesn't have to be

There is also no need to donate breathing: An evaluation of Swedish registry data showed that chest compressions alone are sufficient to significantly improve the chances of survival after cardiac arrest.

The scientists around Dr. Gabriel Riva of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm evaluated the data on the resuscitation of 30,445 patients with cardiac arrest from 2000 to 2017. The result: In 2017, more than twice as many patients were still alive after 30 days.

Lower inhibition threshold for resuscitation

One explanation for this sharp increase is a change in the Swedish guidelines on resuscitation: Since 2010, all first aiders have been recommended to use chest compressions alone for resuscitation. Since then, the helpers have been able to do without ventilation. This apparently reduces the inhibition threshold to intervene considerably.

Impressive result: the number of resuscitation through chest compressions has increased sixfold in these 17 years. And that in turn increases the patient's chances of survival. Because in the event of a cardiac arrest, a few minutes make the difference between life and death. “Chest compressions are easier to perform for the first responder,” the researchers write, “our results show that changing guidelines could improve survival”.

10,000 more survivors in Germany

The recommendation to refrain from donating breath as a first aider could significantly increase the number of resuscitations in Germany as well. An additional 10,000 people could be saved every year if every person with cardiac arrest received first aid quickly. The German Council for Resuscitation (GRC) calculated this number.

The German Heart Foundation has been recommending untrained helpers for a long time to only do chest compressions until a defibrillator or the paramedic arrives - without ventilating or undressing the patient.

50,000 hearts stop each year

More than 50,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year. They need the quick help of Witness first rescuers. The brain is permanently damaged after just three to five minutes without oxygen. Only every tenth affected person survives. A change in guidelines could increase the number of resuscitations, as in Sweden.

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