Irish people are among the most willing in the world to attempt bystander CPR, a new report has revealed.

According to the recently published 2020 Annual Report of the Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Register (OHCAR) Ireland, 84% of cardiac arrests during 2020 involved attempted resuscitation by bystanders supported by phone instructions by a 999 call taker.

In 2012, this figure was 60%.

According to OHCAR chairperson, Prof Conor Deasy, half of cardiac arrests are witnessed by bystanders and carrying out CPR “is the first vital step in the chain of survival to save a life”.

“When an individual suffers a cardiac arrest in the community, minutes matter in order to try and save that person’s life. The public have a vital role to play in responding to these emergencies,” he commented.

Professor Deasy highlighted the importance of the chain of survival, which begins with a 112/999 call and a willingness to commence chest compressions.

“We can be proud of ourselves as a country that we have such high levels of bystander chest compressions being performed,” he said.

The chain of survival has four steps and can be implemented by any member of the public, supported over the phone by the HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) 112/999 team: The steps are

-Early recognition of a cardiac arrest and calling 112/999 immediately to have support through the resuscitation 

-Start immediate CPR - the 112/999 call taker will support someone through this

-Early AED use

-Effective advanced emergency medical service support and post-resuscitation care.

According to the report, last year, there were 2,638 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest where paramedics attempted resuscitation. Most (75%) occurred in the home.

During the same period, 164 patients survived their out-of-hospital cardiac arrest to leave hospital alive - 98% with moderate to good neurological outcomes.

OHCAR helps the National Ambulance Service, the Dublin Fire Brigade and the Dublin Airport Authority to measure their performance in relation to cardiac arrest treatment processes and survival and identify any opportunities that may exist to improve outcomes.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure. The report allows us identify where things are going well and identify where we may need to invest resources to improve,” explained Prof Cathal O’ Donnell, clinical director of the National Ambulance Service and Martin O’Reilly of Dublin Fire Brigade.

The report can be viewed here.