Thousands of lives can be saved every year if more members of the public learn heart resuscitation techniques, experts said today.
Campaigners issued a Europe-wide appeal to step up training in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques.
According to the European Resuscitation Council, more public intervention could save 6,000 lives a year in the UK and 100,000 across Europe.
The campaigners say survival rates from cardiac arrest in countries such as the UK could be increased from 20% to 40% – as is the case in countries such as Norway.
Some 30,000 people a year in the UK suffer this kind of sudden heart attack.
The campaign will be stepped up later this year with an awareness day on October 16.
British Heart Foundation chief executive Simon Gillespie said: "The number of people dying unnecessarily from a cardiac arrest in the UK is completely unacceptable and a needless loss of life.
“World-beaters like the Netherlands and Norway are proof that if more people are trained in vital cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and have access to a defibrillator then survival rates will increase.
“We desperately need life-saving skills taught as standard in our schools and new laws requiring defibrillators in busy public places where a cardiac arrest can occur.”
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