What are the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest in Fallbrook?

FALLBROOK – New findings show that “compression only” when performing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is the most successful method to use. What does this mean?

“It’s no surprise that one of the reasons why many people are reluctant to do CPR, particularly on a stranger, has to do with the perceived “yuck factor” of mouth-to-mouth [resuscitation,],” say experts with North County Fire.

Recent studies have illustrated that compression-only CPR, when given for the first four minutes of cardiac arrest, roughly doubles a cardiac arrest victim’s chances of survival; when you add the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) into the mix, the patient’s chance of survival doubles again.

North County Fire Division Chief Stephen Abbott and public information officer John Buchanan say, “This isn’t just some theoretical idea. There’s real evidence of this success in this community.”

A retrospective three-year analysis of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurring in the communities of Fallbrook, Bonsall, and Rainbow yielded some very promising findings. If a person had a cardiac arrest and was witnessed by a bystander who performed CPR, they had a 25 percent chance of not only surviving but walking out of the hospital with no deficits. If that person performing CPR also had access to an AED, the patient’s chances went up to 75 percent.

“That’s nearly double the national average,” says Abbott. “Talk about beating the odds!”

Abbott says that in the cases where no “bystander CPR” was performed chances of survival were less than five percent and none returned to “normal” after the cardiac arrest.

“So, learning CPR, and having access to an AED really can make a significant difference in saving someone’s life,” says Abbott. “AEDs are now so advanced there is virtually no chance of accidentally shocking a rescuer or providing a shock when it’s not needed.”

“What’s more, even if you have never taken a CPR class most AEDs now provide audible instructions that tell you how to do everything,” he says. “With these latest recommendations and new technology there really is no reason not to learn.”

North County CERT provides free CPR and AED classes, which require only four hours on a Saturday. For those requiring a certification card, there is a $10 cost. For more information, call (760) 451-CERT or email

[email protected].

“What do

want their chances to be?” asks Abbott. “Better still, what do they want their family member’s chances to be? I recommend getting CPR/AED trained and learning where AEDs are located in this community. Make a difference and save a life.”