Traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training includes instruction on giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in addition to chest compressions. For those trained in CPR, this is still the best way to revive a cardiac arrest victim. But new study findings show that for those not trained in CPR, chest compression alone is also an effective form of CPR.

The study was based on the outcomes of 520 cases where 911 dispatchers gave instructions over the telephone to people calling to report cardiac arrest cases. Some callers were walked through traditional CPR, while others were instructed only to give chest compressions while waiting for paramedics or police to arrive. Chest compression alone "may be the preferred approach for bystanders inexperienced in CPR.

And the researchers note that chest compression CPR may help more people to try resuscitation while waiting for help to arrive. Ninety percent of the 911 callers accepted the offer to receive CPR instructions, the authors report, but callers receiving instruction in chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth breathing were more than twice as likely as those receiving chest compression-only instructions to terminate them by hanging up or by deeming them too difficult to follow.

But an American Heart Association (AHA) news release states this does not mean that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation should be abandoned. A trained rescuer is very likely going to increase the chances of survival by doing mouth-to-mouth along with chest compression.

NEJM May 25, 2000;342:1546-1553, 1599-1601