Compression only resuscitation triples survival

Data from Phoenix Emergency Medical Services presented at the American Heart Association meetings this month showed improved survival after implementation of the compression only method. Evidence favoring compression only has been mounting and the folks at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center have been beating this drum for quite a while. Although the 2005 AHA Guidelines moved in the right direction they didn’t go far enough---they’re years behind the science, and the science is compelling. Tuscon rescuers are using the same protocols. In 2006 if you’re going to have a cardiac arrest, your chances are best if you have it in Arizona.

You read it first on here over a year ago. I’ll repeat the caveats I posted then:

1) For witnessed VT or VF in the health care setting immediate defibrillation remains the initial modality (remember the electrical phase!).

2) This new thinking does NOT apply to pediatric codes or other arrests of suspected respiratory origin. Rescue breathing remains a higher priority in those situations.