Depictions of CPR on TV often don’t align with the reality of the potentially lifesaving practice and frequently show the “outdated” method of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, researchers say.
A team from the Schools of Public Health and Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh analyzed 169 U.S. TV episodes showing bystanders performing CPR, focusing on correct techniques behind compression-only or hands-only CPR. (In 2008, the American Heart Association revised its recommendations to favor compression-only CPR over giving rescue breaths to a victim.)
Steps for compression-only CPR are simple, the researchers say: Call 911 and begin chest compressions. However, they found that fewer than 30% of the episodes showed the steps performed correctly, while many depicted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (48%) and pulse checks (43%).
Ore Fawole, lead researcher and recent Pitt graduate, said that public perceptions of CPR could be skewed by additional findings from the study. For example, although 44% of the CPR recipients on TV were between the ages of 21 and 40, the average age of individuals who receive CPR is 62.
Further, 80% of those who received CPR on TV were in public, despite 80% of cardiac arrests occurring in the victim’s home.
“If viewers think cardiac arrest only happens in public or to young people, they may not see CPR training as relevant to their own lives,” Fawole said. “But most cardiac arrests happen at home, and the person you save is likely someone you love.”
The study was published in the journal Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes.
