Abstract
On October 18th, 2010, the European Resuscitation Council launched the new European Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, based on new scientific evidence published since the last revision five years ago. About 500,000 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest every year in Europe.
Both bystanders and healthcare providers play key roles in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation for victims of cardiac arrest. The most important action in resuscitation is chest compression.
This simple procedure is safe and markedly increases the victim’s chance of survival. This year marks also the 50th anniversary of the first peer-reviewed case report documenting survival after closed chest compression for cardiac arrest.
The authors summarize major issues in the European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, primarily those in basic life support that affect all rescuers, whether healthcare providers or lay rescuers.