A short delay from out of hospital cardiac arrest to call for ambulance increases survival

Aim To describe the relative impact on survival of the delay from estimated time of collapse to call for an ambulance among patients who suffer from a bystander witnessed out of hospital cardiac arrest of a cardiac aetiology. Methods A majority of all ambulance organizations in Sweden (covering 85% of Sweden inhabitants) participate in a National survey of out of hospital cardiac arrest. Results In all there were 9340 patients with a bystander witnessed cardiac arrest of a cardiac aetiology in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted participating in this survey. Survival at one month among patients with a delay between estimated time of collapse and call for ambulance of less than or equal to4 min (median) was 6.9% versus 2.8% among patients with a median of >4 min (P