Oct 02, 2013 02:31 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

When embedded into the national psyche, CPR classes might actually work.

Recent research reveals increased survivor rates for cardiac arrest victims following a nationwide effort on CPR education, the Los Angeles Times reported by way of a study conducted by Danish researchers. Data from the study counted only instances where CPR was applied outside of a hospital, or, in broader terms, by the average, non-medicinal person.

Though the results were obtained in Denmark, a country of roughly 6 million people, the findings could prove useful in the United States, where approximately 300,000 victims fall to cardiac arrest outside of hospitals each year, the Times reported.

Two of the major areas researchers found lacking in Danish citizens were the ability to perform CPR and the ability to perform it in an effective manner. Statistics compiled in 2001 showed that only 20 percent of cardiac arrest citizens received CPR from bystanders. Of those that that did receive life-saving assistance from a good Samaritan, less than 6 percent survived 30 days later.

Ten years later, following rather creative policy implementations by the Danish government, those statistics have improved significantly. In 2010, nearly 45 percent of those in cardiac arrest received assistance from a fellow countryman. Furthermore, over 20 percent remained alive when they reached a medical center and around 10 percent maintained life 30 days after their near death experience.

How did Denmark so dramatically increase the efficacy of its citizens when encountering cardiac distress? It started with the youth and spanned to trained professionals. CPR became mandatory coursework for elementary students while those applying for a license were required to take CPR classes. AED defibrillators became more widely available. Emergency operators were better trained, demonstrating more effective advice when fielding distressed phone calls.

Though the increase in the number of people who responded to CPR remains undisputed, the proficiency of their CPR is unclear.

"The reason for improved survival is probably multifactorial and most likely related to improvements in each of the links in the chain of survival," researchers concluded. 

"Improvements in the links in the chain of survival" pertain to advances in hospital care. More cardiac arrest victims could be surviving simply because hospitals are better equipped to care for them in 2010 than 2001.

"In Denmark between 2001 and 2010, an increase in survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was significantly associated with a concomitant increase in bystander CPR," The final report concludes. "Because of the co-occurrence of other related initiatives, a causal relationship remains uncertain."

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