11 August 2010
The capital’s cardiac arrest survival rate has doubled in
the last four years, according to the latest London Ambulance
Service figures.
More than one in five Londoners now survive an
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (21.5 per cent*) compared to one in
ten (10.9 per cent) four years ago.
The 2009/10 Cardiac Arrest Annual Report,
published recently, attributes the increase to more effective
patient care from London Ambulance Service staff, as well as
significant levels of bystanders performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Medical Director Fionna Moore said: “These
latest figures show that through our staff getting to patients
quickly and delivering effective life-saving care Londoners whose
hearts have stopped beating have more chance of survival than ever
before.
“If someone collapses and stops breathing it
means their heart has stopped and 999 should be called for an
ambulance immediately.
“Last year in just over a third of cases
bystanders gave CPR to patients in cardiac
arrest while an ambulance was on the way, but it’s a simple
fact that if more people learnt this life-saving technique and used
it, more patients would survive. Effective CPR doubles a person’s
chances of survival.
“Getting a defibrillator, a machine that can shock the
heart to restart it again, to the patient quickly, also greatly
improves someone’s chances of survival.”
The London Ambulance Service is responsible
for over 500 public-access defibrillators in places such as train
stations, airports, leisure centres and tourist attractions around
the capital, and for training staff who work in those locations to
use them.
James Fuller, 28, (pictured above) had his life saved by
colleagues when he suffered a cardiac arrest at work. Read his
story in the Real Life: Patient Stories section
*The cardiac arrest survival figure is
calculated using the internationally-recognised Utstein method. The
calculation takes into account the number of patients discharged
alive from hospital who had resuscitation attempted following a
cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac aetiology, and who also had
their arrest witnessed by a bystander and an initial cardiac rhythm
of ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia.
Additional figures from London
Ambulance Service Cardiac Arrest Annual Report 2009/10 –
Authors Gurkamal Virdi, Lynne Watson and Dr Rachael Donohoe
- Around two thirds of cardiac arrests in
London occurred in the home
- Of those that occurred in public, just under
half took place in the street
- Between a third and a half of all cardiac
arrests were witnessed by bystanders (44 per cent)
- However, bystanders only gave
cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in just over a third of all
cardiac arrests (35 per cent)
- The average age of a cardiac arrest patient
was 67
- The majority of patients (64 per cent) were
male
- Female patients were on average six years
older than males (71 compared with 65)
- Cardiac arrests occurred most frequently on a
Monday
- The highest number in a single month occurred
in December (11 per cent) and the fewest in April (5.6 per
cent)
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
- A cardiac arrest occurs when a person’s heart stops. Someone in
cardiac arrest will lose consciousness, will not be breathing and
will have no signs of circulation. A cardiac arrest is not the same
as a heart attack, the latter being when a clot in the artery
restricts the flow of blood to the heart. The terms ‘cardiac
arrest’ and ‘heart attack’ are not interchangeable. Patients in
cardiac arrest are effectively dead unless they are promptly
resuscitated.
- London’s cardiac arrest survival figure using the Utstein
method has increased from 10.9 per cent in 2005/06 to 21.5 per cent
in 2009/10
- In 2009/10 the London Ambulance Service received over 120,000
calls from patients reporting potential cardiac or chest pain
related problems
- The London Ambulance Service provides free CPR training to the
public and to businesses at a cost. People who are interested in
learning CPR and how to save a life in a medical emergency should
call 020 7783 2534 or email resustraining@lond-amb.nhs.uk
or visit the Learn to save a life section of the
website.