Women Are Less Likely Than Men to Get CPR in Public Settings

According to data presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress on September 18, bystanders are less likely to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on women than males, mainly if the incident occurs in a public setting.

The research conducted by the Montreal Heart Institute research center in Canada also demonstrates that older people—particularly older men—are less likely to undergo CPR in private settings. Per the findings, CPR saves lives.

When the heart stops beating, CPR is a life-saving emergency. After cardiac arrest, immediate CPR can increase survival rates by a factor of two to three. In the United States, 350,000 individuals die from cardiac arrest yearly.

They advise individuals to learn how to administer CPR and to do it without hesitation to anybody who requires it, regardless of gender, age, or location.

""In an emergency when someone is unconscious and not breathing properly, in addition to calling an ambulance, bystanders should give CPR. This will give the patient a much better chance of survival and recovery."

-Dr. Cournoyer

She continued by saying that this study aimed to identify any characteristics that would hinder individuals from performing CPR, including any criteria that might discourage people from performing CPR on a woman.

What did the results reveal?

A total of 39,391 individuals with an average age of 67 were included in the study's data from records of cardiac arrests that occurred outside of hospitals in Canada and the U.S. between 2005 and 2015. They considered the patient's age and gender, the location of the event, and whether or not a bystander administered CPR.

They discovered that only 54% of patients received CPR from a bystander. In general, women (52% of women who received CPR compared to 55% of males) were somewhat less likely. However, the disparity was more significant when the researchers only included cardiac arrests in a public setting, such as a roadway (61% of women versus 68% of males).

Regardless of age, women had lower public CPR rates than males. The findings showed that males were around 9% less likely to receive CPR following a cardiac arrest with every ten-year rise in age when the researchers examined cardiac arrests that occurred in a private environment, such as a home.

With every ten years of age, the likelihood of a woman obtaining CPR during a cardiac arrest in a private environment decreased by around 3%.

According to Cournoyer's study, women with cardiac arrest are less likely than males to receive the CPR they require, mainly if the emergency occurs in public. We are unsure of the cause of this.

Cossette concluded: "We would like to study this issue in greater detail to understand what lies behind the difference. This could help us make sure that anyone who needs CPR gets it, regardless of gender, age or location."