Cardiac arrest survival gets less likely the higher up you live, new study says

In a study of residential high-rise buildings, people who suffered cardiac arrest had a better chance of survival if they lived on lower floors, and survival odds decreased as floor number increased.

The main reason is the time it takes to get to heart attack victims, with “an absolute decrease in survival of 7% to 10% for each 1-minute delay,” according to the study. Researchers from St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, looked at almost 8,000 people who had suffered cardiac arrest at home between 2007 and 2012.

Of those living below the third floor, 4.2 per cent survived. But only 2.6 per cent of people living higher up survived. The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, discovered that there was a survival rate of just 0.9 per cent in those living above the 16th floor. And of 30 people who suffered cardiac arrest and lived higher than the 25th floor, none survived.

“Longer time from the arrival of 911-initiated first responders on scene to patient contact is one potential explanation for lower survival on the higher floors,” says the study. “As more high-rise buildings are built, in response to the demand for affordable condominiums and rental properties, the negative impact on community survival may increase,” it warns.

“Interventions aimed at shortening response times to treatment of cardiac arrest in high-rise buildings may increase survival,” states the Canadian research. Installing defibrillators in tower blocks “by placing the devices on specific floors, in building lobbies or inside elevators,” is suggested as a way of improving the chances for heart attack victims. Other recommendations include making sure that emergency services have sole access to lifts when needed, and ensuring that building staff are alerted before an ambulance arrives.

The study also calls on landlords, property management companies and condo boards to consider purchasing automated external defibrillators for their buildings and training staff in their use.

Agencies/Canadajournal