Bystanders unlikely to do CPR

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States. But if your heart skips a beat, or several hundred, it's not likely you will receive CPR until emergency help arrives, the American Heart Association said in a statement this month.

However, Penn is working to provide training and equipment to University staff in hopes of remedying the situation.

If CPR is performed promptly after cardiac arrest, survival rates can be doubled or tripled, said Benjamin Abella, lead author of the AHA statement and a Penn professor of emergency medicine.

Only about 15 to 30 percent of cardiac-arrest victims receive CPR from bystanders, according to the AHA.

This is alarming since survival rates fall 7 to 10 percent for each minute without CPR. In addition to CPR, use of an automated external defibrillator, a tool that uses electricity to restore the heart's normal rhythm, can double the chances of survival.

The AHA cites complex instructional materials, fear of failure, lack of confidence and fear of legal liability as reasons behind the low rates of bystander response. There are also logistical questions like what hospital to call and AED availability and location.

Abella and Penn's Center for Resuscitation Science are working to develop technology to better train people in CPR and on developing AED devices that coach the responder while he or she performs CPR.

Penn is also working to organize its own first-response system.

All schools and centers at the University are being encouraged - though without additional funding - to train personnel in emergency response and to equip their buildings with AEDs.

Many have already succeeded in doing so, such as the School of Social Policy and Practice and the Graduate School of Education, said Larry Starr, the director of the AED program for Penn's School of Arts and Sciences and a professor of organizational dynamics.

It is not clear, however, how many buildings on campus currently have AEDs installed.

The key challenge is building a culture that is ready to respond at anytime to a medical emergency, not just cardiac arrest, Starr said.

"We need to get the devices, let people know about them, get them trained and get a clear system so that a person who walks in will know how to access that. It's a huge undertaking and a great opportunity," he said.

"That is how you save lives."

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