This is the largest study of its kind in Europe to date, covering data from 28 countries and over 230 million inhabitants. In total, more than 45,000 cardiac arrest cases were identified, including about 32,000 cases where emergency medical services (EMS) initiated or continued resuscitation.

Importance of Response Time Confirmed

The main objective of the study was to examine how EMS response time affects the survival chances of individuals who suffer cardiac arrest outside of hospitals. The results clearly show that shorter response times increase the likelihood of survival – and that a response time of over 15 minutes halves the chances of surviving cardiac arrest.

“This highlights the importance of improving access to and the dispatch speed of emergency medical services, especially in rural areas,” says Bergþór Steinn.

SAk Part of International Collaboration

Bergþór participated in the study as Iceland’s representative and is listed as a co-author of the paper alongside doctors and specialists from across Europe. He emphasizes the importance of SAk and Iceland taking part in such initiatives:
“It matters that Iceland is involved in this collaboration, as one of the goals is to harmonize data collection to allow for better comparison between countries. This helps us get a realistic picture of our own situation and performance. Studies like this directly support improvement efforts and policy-making in emergency medicine and prehospital care.”

Call to the Community

The study also found that survival chances increase significantly if the cardiac arrest occurs in a public place, if there are witnesses to the event, and if someone provides resuscitation before EMS arrives.
“It is extremely important that everyone knows basic first aid and can respond quickly,” says Bergþór.

Read more here: European registry of cardiac arrest study THREE (EuReCa- THREE) – EMS response time influence on outcome in Europe - Resuscitation