New Approach to Treating Cardiac Arrest is Saving More Lives, Clemency Says

Updated February 1, 2018 This content is archived.

A UB study shows that, instead of immediately transporting a patient to the hospital, patients are more likely to survive a heart attack when first responders stay on the scene to focus on high-quality cardiac pulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation. “When a patient collapses from cardiac arrest in the community, the chance they will survive is low to begin with. But their chances get even worse if emergency medical services providers automatically try to take the patient to the hospital, rather than maximizing their care on scene,” said Brian Clemency, DO, associate professor of emergency medicine.