(AP) A change in the procedure in which cardiac arrest
patients are treated by Arkansas’ largest ambulance service has resulted in an
increase in the number of patients who are revived.
The new procedure calls for extended on-scene treatment over quickly
transporting the patient to a hospital.
Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services of Little Rock told the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette that the revival rate more than doubled from about 15 percent
to about 32 percent since it began performing uninterrupted CPR at the scene
beginning Nov. 23, 2015.
Though the revival rate improved, the overall survival rate remains at less
than 6 percent.
Cardiac arrest is caused when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions,
unlike a heart attack, which is the death of heart muscle tissue due to a loss
of blood supply.
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