Quick CPR Doubles Child Survival After Cardiac Arrest

New preliminary research reveals that initiating CPR within the first five minutes after cardiac arrest can nearly double survival chances for children, highlighting a critical time window that's half as long as that for adults. The study, led by Dr. Mohammad Abdel Jawad of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, analyzed data from more than 10,000 children in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) database, finding that survival odds increased dramatically when bystander CPR began within minutes of cardiac arrest. The findings underscore the urgent need for widespread CPR training among parents, teachers, coaches, and community members, as the study shows survival odds increased by 91% when CPR started within one minute, 98% within two to three minutes, and 37% within four to five minutes, but dropped significantly after that critical window.

The research, to be presented at the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium 2025 in New Orleans, emphasizes that children have a much narrower window for successful intervention compared to adults, who may benefit from CPR initiated up to ten minutes after cardiac arrest. Dr. Jawad noted that while the survival benefit of early CPR wasn't surprising, researchers were "struck by how quickly the benefit dropped off after five minutes" in children. The study also found similar patterns between the timing of lay rescuer CPR and favorable brain survival outcomes, with approximately 13% of children showing preserved brain function when CPR began within the optimal timeframe. These findings support the American Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers movement, which aims to double cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030 through increased public education and training.

The research team calculated CPR timing based on emergency medical services reports from 911 calls, acknowledging this as a potential limitation since dispatch times may not always be exact. Future research directions include exploring ways to shorten time to CPR administration through improved dispatcher instructions and broader implementation of CPR training in schools and during well-child visits. The study's significance is amplified by American Heart Association data showing that 9 out of 10 people who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die, often because they don't receive immediate CPR. As Dr. Dianne Atkins, volunteer past-chair of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee, emphasized, "Science shows that when lay rescuers step in and begin CPR within the first few minutes, survival rates can more than double, and the chances of preserving brain function dramatically increase."