COUNTYWIDE : CPR Effectiveness Indicated in Study

Over a 20-month period in the county, only one in four people who suffered heart attacks while in the company of others received cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to a study released Wednesday.

The survival rate among those who received CPR was 17% while the rate for all the heart attack victims was 8.5%, according to the study presented by Kym Salness, chairman of the county Emergency Medical Services division.

The study was conducted by that unit, the county Health Care Agency and the county Fire Chiefs Assn. It included 1,885 people who suffered heart attacks outside of hospitals between August, 1988, and March, 1990.

More than half the victims were not alone when the heart attacks occurred. Only 27% of those people received CPR.

“There is a very short window of time after complete cardiac collapse” for a victim to have a chance of recovery, Salness said. The “window is only a few minutes long.”

The report encourages increasing education about CPR and early warning signs of cardiac arrest, officials said. A heart attack usually begins with an intense pressure in the victim’s chest and might spread to the arms, neck or jaw.

The victim might look worried, have difficulty breathing, perspire heavily, feel weak and experience nausea.

The Orange County Fire Chiefs Assn. and Health Care Agency participated in the study.