The case in summary: • Every year approx. 4,000 Norwegians from cardiac arrest, and quick help is essential to save lives.• Despite an increase in resuscitation attempts and the use of defibrillators, the survival rate for cardiac arrest has not increased in the last ten years.• In 2017, a national charity started to improve knowledge of life-saving first aid, with the aim of saving 200 more lives a year. Norway is far from reaching this goal.• Despite the fact that 10,500 defibrillators have been registered in Norway, and it is estimated that the real number is as high as 80,000, this has not resulted in better survival.• Close to 80 per cent of all who suffered a cardiac arrest last year, received CPR from people nearby. 40 people were shocked by defibrillators, and were alive when the ambulance arrived at the scene.• More lives can be saved by increased use of defibrillators. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – They are already dead, but we know that here we can make a difference. We know that someone can survive if you do the right things, says ambulance worker Birgitte Larsen. When a heart suddenly stops beating, she and her colleagues at the ambulance service in Drammen know what is at stake. Most times the outcome is tragic, but sometimes a person is brought back to life. – It always does something to us when we get it done. We don’t get the majority of them. It is precisely those times when things are going well that keep us going in the hope that things will turn around, she says. Ambulance worker Birgitte Larsen has helped to save the lives of several people with cardiac arrest, but most of the times the outcome is tragic. Photo: Jan-Erik Wilthil / news Every year approximately 4,000 Norwegians are affected by the dreaded condition of cardiac arrest. Most cases occur outside hospital, and quick help is essential to save lives. Without CPR, death is almost inevitable. For every minute that passes, the chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. Increase in reported cardiac arrests In the last two years, there have been a record number of resuscitation attempts after cardiac arrest. But despite the fact that several people received quick help, there are still very few who escape with their lives. Ingvild Tjelmeland is head of the Norwegian Cardiac Arrest Register. Photo: Privat Last year, paramedics started resuscitation on 3,036 people with cardiac arrest. Only 439 of these survived. – The number of survivors per 100,000 inhabitants is completely stable in Norway. Unfortunately, there has been no change in the last ten years, says head of the Norwegian Cardiac Arrest Register, Ingvild Tjelmeland. She believes the transition to a new digital system may have contributed to more cardiac arrests being registered. – Something happened when we switched from paper to electronic. In the last two years we have seen an increase in the number of reported cardiac arrests. – These statistics only show those who are tried to be revived by paramedics. Does that mean the real number of cardiac arrests could be even higher? – Yes, but everyone who dies should not be revived. There are some who are allowed to die at home from advanced cancer. Others have injuries or extensive medical history that make it incompatible with life. They shall not be revived. It is simply not ethically correct. Facts about cardiac arrest: Sudden and unexpected cardiac arrest that occurs outside hospital affects around 3,000 people in Norway each year. Two out of three cases occur in one’s own home. Anyone can have a cardiac arrest, but the condition is more frequent in men and the elderly over the age of 65. The most common cause of cardiac arrest is rhythm disturbances in connection with an acute heart attack. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator are essential for the patient’s survival. Only 10-15 percent of those who are resuscitated survive the cardiac arrest. Source: Helsenorge.no – Haven’t cracked the code In 2017, then Minister of Health Bent Høie started a national charity to improve knowledge of life-saving first aid. The goal was to save 200 more lives a year. The background for the work was experiences from, among others, Denmark, which has worked systematically to improve knowledge of life-saving first aid. Currently, Norway is far from reaching the goal. At the same time, defibrillators have appeared like toadstools all over the country. To date, 10,500 defibrillators have been registered, but it is estimated that the real number is as high as 80,000. Nor has it resulted in better survival. – We have focused on that. We have obtained a defibrillator register and a cardiac arrest register. Nevertheless, it does not look like we have completely cracked the code on what we can do to increase survival considerably, says Tjelmeland. – Norwegians at the top of the world Although the survival rate is not increasing, there are many examples of quick first aid and the use of defibrillators saving lives. – The earlier the patients receive a shock or receive good cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the greater the probability of survival, says Tjelmeland. And Norwegians are among the best in their class to intervene when someone falls over. There are probably more than 80,000 defibrillators in Norway. Most of them are not registered. Photo: Philip Hofgaard – We are at the top of the world when it comes to CPR before the ambulance arrives. And there we have been high for many years. But we still have something to go on, and it still increases slightly from year to year, says Tjelmeland. She believes more lives can be saved if more people use defibrillators. Almost 80 per cent of everyone who suffered a cardiac arrest last year received CPR from people nearby. 40 people were shocked by defibrillators and were alive when the ambulance arrived. – I think there is the most to be gained there. Under optimal conditions, when you have a defibrillator and the expertise on site, the survival rate increases quite dramatically, says Tjelmeland. Last year, 1,108 patients suffered a cardiac arrest while in hospital. Here, half of the patients regained their heart rhythm, and 32 percent survived. Ambulance worker Birgitte Larsen hopes that more people can be saved in the future. – We train and train, and we know that we can always improve. We have a project underway to find out how we can improve on this. There is a lot of research going on into this now, so I really hope that there will be more eventually, she says. Nurse and instructor Øystein Åkvik shows us basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator. Published 18.10.2024, at 09.11
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Thousands of defibrillators have not led to increased survival – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio
