Sudden Cardiac Arrest: For A Better Public Education
Résumé
Out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest remains a major public health issue, with more than 40000 new cases occurring in France every year. Overall, less than 10% will eventually survive. The first minutes are essential, and a more systematic effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation, combining cardiac massage and early defibrillation, should allow much higher survival rates. An ambitious and well-coordinated program, based on an adequate education of the general population since childhood, is mandatory to substantially improve outcomes. In the present report, the French National Medical Academy suggests a strategy, based on four essential measures, for a better public education to life-saving techniques.