March 13, 2008–NEW YORK–A new approach to cardiac resuscitation designed to maintain nearly constant chest compressions triples the rate of survival of "out-of-hospital" cardiac arrest, study findings suggest.

"Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major public health problem and a leading cause of death," note the study investigators. "Although early defibrillation with automated external defibrillators improves survival, early defibrillation is rare and few patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive."