Acute Cardiac Arrest Patients Increasing for 5 Years... Bystander CPR Rates Also Rising

Announcement of 2021 Acute Cardiac Arrest Investigation Results

On August 24th, civil servants practiced cardiopulmonary resuscitation during a civil defense evacuation drill held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The number of patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from both acute cardiac arrest patients and laypersons has been increasing annually.

At the '11th Acute Cardiac Arrest Survey Symposium' held on the 16th at the Courtyard Marriott Namdaemun in Seoul, hosted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Fire Agency, these survey results were announced. Experts and authorities discussed strategies for preventing acute cardiac arrest and improving survival rates at the symposium.

According to last year's acute cardiac arrest survey, 33,235 patients with acute cardiac arrest were transported by 119 emergency medical services during the period. The incidence rate of acute cardiac arrest was 64.7 per 100,000 population, showing a continuous upward trend. It was 57.1 in 2017, 59.5 in 2018, 60.0 in 2019, and 61.6 in 2020.

By gender, the incidence rate was higher in males at 82.4 compared to females at 47.2. In terms of age, the incidence rate was higher in older age groups. For those in their 70s, it was 199.2 per 100,000 population, and for those aged 80 and above, it was 513.5.

Among acute cardiac arrest patients, 7.3% were discharged alive, and 4.4% were discharged with brain function recovered enough to perform daily activities. The age groups with the highest survival and brain function recovery rates were those in their 40s and 50s. The survival and brain function recovery rates for people in their 40s were 14.1% and 10.2%, respectively, and for those in their 50s, 14.0% and 10.1%.

The percentage of patients who received CPR performed by laypersons was 28.8% last year, showing a continuous increasing trend. This is 2.4 percentage points higher than 26.4% in 2020. When CPR was performed by laypersons, the survival rate was 11.6% (as of 2021), more than twice as high as when it was not performed (5.3%).

Professor Cho Gyu-jong of Hallym University College of Medicine (Chairman of the Basic Resuscitation Committee of the Korean Association of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) said, "It is very encouraging that the rate of lay citizens performing CPR on acute cardiac arrest patients has steadily increased even during the COVID-19 pandemic." He emphasized the importance of CPR, saying, "Since the golden time for the patient passes while recognizing the cardiac arrest, reporting it, and waiting for the 119 emergency medical team, it is necessary to continuously compress the patient's chest with my own hands to replace the heart's function and minimize the time the heart is stopped."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.