‘Dismal’ heart attack survival rates

PEOPLE who suffer heart attacks in this country have a dismal chance of survival due to a lack of equipment and expertise, a conference for members of the emergency services was told yesterday.

Dr Cathal O’Donnell, consultant in emergency medicine in the mid-west, said this situation has arisen because of poor public awareness of CPR-resuscitation done with hand compression and a lack of defibrillators.

Addressing more than 400 emergency services workers and volunteers at the Resus conference in Limerick, Dr O’Donnell said: “We have a dismal outcome from cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death. Less than 5% survive. On average, 14 people die from cardiac arrest every 24 hours. Many of them die because they don’t get CPR or a defibrillator to them in the first four to five minutes. Irish lay people do not know how to do basic CPR and this is the main reason that people die.”

Another top consultant said not enough attention has been paid to CPR. Professor Douglas Chamberlain of the University of Cardiff said studies in the US and Norway showed heart attack victims who get CPR had a better outcome than those first defibrillatored.

“Hand compression can sustain life for 60 minutes. Chest compression receives too little attention in teaching, training and as a result in practice,” he said.