It doesn’t matter if CPR is performed by a doctor, a paramedic or an unskilled, unpracticed passerby — when performed promptly, it will increase a person’s odds of survival, a new study says.

The speed of CPR initiation is crucial to survival and better outcomes related to cardiac arrest, rather than who performs it, researchers reported Friday at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Florence, Italy.

Patients who got bystander CPR had the same risk of death during their hospital stay as those treated by a paramedic or other medical professional, researchers found.

“Our data highlights the importance of immediate resuscitation and underlines the importance to promote population awareness and Basic Life Support training to further improve survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,” said the research team led by Aneta Aleksova, an associate professor with the University of Trieste in Italy.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 3,300 people who suffered a heart attack and were admitted to the University Hospital Trieste for treatment between 2003 and 2024.

The percentage of people who received bystander CPR after they first collapsed steadily increased over the years, researchers found.

Only 26% of patients received bystander CPR in 2003-2007, but by 2020-2024 that had increased to 69%, results show.

Each five-minute delay in the return of spontaneous heartbeat was associated with a 38% increased risk of death, researchers said.

About 26% of patients died during their hospital stay, but there was no difference between who received bystander versus paramedic CPR, researchers found.

During average follow-up of seven years, 14% of patients died. Long-term outcomes did not differ based on who first provided CPR, results show.

“Rapid return of spontaneous circulation was crucial for in-hospital survival, independently of rescuer type,” researchers said. “Also, similar long-term survival was observed comparing patients with initial layperson or emergency medical service cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The American Red Cross has more on how to perform CPR.

SOURCE: European Society of Cardiology, news release, March 14, 2025

Source: HealthDay

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