Study: Hands-only CPR saves more lives in cardiac arrest

CHICAGO - Hands-only CPR doesn't just eliminate the "yuck factor." A new study shows it can save more lives.

It's the first large American study to show more adults survived cardiac arrest when a bystander gave them continuous chest presses to simulate a heartbeat, compared with traditional mouth-to-mouth breathing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

"Anyone who can put one hand on top of the other, lock their elbows and push hard and fast can do this. No risk, no fear of causing harm," said lead author Dr. Ben Bobrow of the Arizona Department of Health Services in Phoenix. "We want to take away all the reasons bystanders do nothing when they witness another person collapse."

With hands-only CPR, advocates say, rescuers don't have to contemplate what for some could be the "yuck factor" of putting their mouth to an unconscious person's mouth and breathing for them.

For others, the trimmed-down method simplifies a confusing procedure learned years ago and barely remembered - How many breaths? How many chest compressions? Are you supposed to pinch the nose?

Standard CPR with mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions is still best for very small children and victims of near-drowning and drug overdose, experts say, instances when breathing problems probably led to the cardiac arrest.

Nonstop chest compressions work better for adult cardiac arrest because most people take too long to do mouth-to-mouth, said senior author Dr. Gordon Ewy of the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center. After cardiac arrest, oxygenated blood can't get to the brain without help. Most rescuers take about 16 seconds to perform two CPR breaths - long enough to starve the organs of oxygen.

The study, which appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, is also the first to show a statewide awareness campaign can increase bystanders' willingness to try CPR.