Britain needs a "cultural shift" in attitudes towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation to improve survival from cardiac arrest, experts say today.
A new report calls for all secondary school pupils to learn CPR techniques and for improved awareness among the general public.
It also calls for patients to be taken to specialist cardiac arrest centres after resuscitation.
Improved emergency service collaboration would ensure a professional life-saver would be on the scene with a defibrillator much faster, the report says.
It has been produced jointly by the British Heart Foundation and NHS England.
They say that just 8% of patients in England survive a cardiac arrest – whole fewer than 40% of bystanders intervene.
The national clinical director for heart disease, Professor Huon Gray, said: “Thousands of deaths from cardiac arrests could be prevented every year, but we need to work with the public, the emergency services and hospitals in order to achieve this.
“This new guidance sets out the best care for a patient, from the moment they’re found collapsed, to their recovery in hospital and subsequent rehabilitation.
“Currently, there is significant variation in treatment around the country so it is vital that we provide all people with the best possible chances of survival, wherever they live."
BHF medical director Professor Sir Nilesh Samani said: “Cardiac arrest survival rates in England are disappointingly low and have remained so for many years.
“There is potential to save thousands of lives but we urgently need to change how we think about cardiac arrest care.
“It’s clear that we need a revolution in CPR by educating more people in simple lifesaving skills and the use of external defibrillators, and for the subsequent care of a resuscitated patient to be more consistent and streamlined.”
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