Spain, with room for improvement in cardiac arrests

In Spain, the survival from cardiorespiratory arrest outside the hospital is located in a 10.8%more than three points above the European average (7.5%)according to the EuReCa report, prepared by the Spanish Council of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CERCP) with the collaboration of MAPFRE Foundation.

The study, which analyzed data from 28 European countries —representing more than 230 million people—, reveals that the average incidence of cardiac arrest in Spain is 24.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitantsin front of the 55.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants of the European average.

By age, the predominant profiles of those who suffer cardiorespiratory arrest are men with an average age of 65.4 years and women 70.1 years olda pattern that is repeated in most countries.

Lack of knowledge of CPR

The average response time of emergency services in Spain is 11 minutesand only the 23.5% of patients are seen in the first eight minutes. Experts warn that when the response exceeds 15 minutesthe chances of survival are cut in half.

One of the most worrying data is that, excluding cases witnessed by emergency services, Only in 39.3% of cardiac arrests was there a resuscitation attempt by witnesses, compared to 59.4% in Europe. This factor is key, since the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) bywitness initiation is directly associated with increased survival.

“Every minute countsand having the right tools, such as defibrillators or knowledge of CPR, are vital to giving all patients a chance. Here the involvement of society is key. Spanish survival data are adequate, but still There is a lot of awareness work left important,” he said. José Ignacio Ruiz Azpiazumedical director of Emergency Service 061 of La Rioja and national coordinator of the Spanish Registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest OHSCAR.

Likewise, he stressed that “the reaction, especially of the emergency services, with a different organization and means in each country, cannot be changed in the short and medium term, but the attitude of society can make a difference”.

For its part, Eva Arranzdoctor at Fundación MAPFRE, highlighted the importance of initiating CPR by any bystanderas this can significantly contribute to increasing the chances of survival.

In the same line, Gonzalo Zeballospresident of the CERCP, recalled that “it is crucial to insist on the great importance of training citizens in first aid maneuvers, so that more and more citizens know how to respond to cardiac arrest and have more availability of defibrillators public access. “This will improve survival rates in the event of cardiac arrest.”

How to act in the event of cardiac arrest

In a situation of this type, specialists recommend following the following steps:

1. Check awareness of the person trying to communicate with them or gently shaking them by the shoulders.
2. Ask for help and place it face up.
3. Check if you are breathing. If not breathing, call 112 and start the CPR through chest compressions (100 – 120 per minute), alternating with breaths (30 chest compressions followed by 2 ventilations). If ventilations are not known or cannot be performed, compressions should be continued without interruption.
4. Request an automatic external defibrillator (AED) if available and follow the device’s instructions, without stopping CPR.
5. The defibrillator will analyze the heart rhythm and determine if an electric shock needs to be delivered. If so, after downloading, you should resume CPR immediately.

The study recalls that For every minute that passes without attention, the chances of survival decrease by 10%so the quick action of witnesses can make the difference between life and death.