September 24, 2008--An analysis of emergency medical services-treated cardiac arrest outcomes in 10 areas in North America finds a five-fold difference in survival rates, according to a study in the Sept. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Arthur B. Sanders and Dr. Karl B. Kern of The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center write that "this wide variability in outcome emphasizes the pressing need for each community to first ‘know its numbers,' then concentrate on improving survival rates by focusing on locally identified problem areas within the chain of survival.