Cardiac arrest patients are kept waiting too long fordefibrillation after a heart attack, a new study shows.
The American Heart Association recommends a shock to theheart within two minutes of cardiac arrest. The study, however, discovered that30% of patients do not receive adequate treatment from caregivers in time.
If given the proper treatment within two minutes, thechance of surviving a heart attack suffered in a facility is 39%. After thetwo-minute window, survival rates can drop as low as 15%, the report says. Thestudy tracked defibrillator use in 369 hospitals from 2000 to 2005.
