CPR Research at UA Sarver Heart Center

Doctors and researchers at the UA Sarver Heart Center have been active in CPR research for more than 30 years and have earned an international reputation for their findings and recommendations, many of which were incorporated in the American Heart Association's 2000 CPR Guidelines.

Significant research findings that have surfaced in the past few years have convinced the Sarver Heart Center of the need to immediately apply new techniques that have been proven to save more lives.

The Sarver Heart Center's efforts have evolved into three components. The first, begun in fall 2001, is the Sarver Heart Auomated External Defibrillator Registry (SHARE). The program helps Arizona businesses and organizations obtain automated external defibrillators and learn how to use them. AEDs are used to restore a normal rhythm in hearts after cardiac arrest by delivering an electric shock.

Several businesses and organizations have joined the registry, including Tucson Electric Power, the University of Arizona and Pima County Community College District and the Maric opa County Community College District.

The second component is a partnership that the Sarver Heart Center has formed with the Tucson Fire Department called the SHC/TFD CPR Initiative. Under the guidance of the Sarver Heart Center, TFD has made important modifications to the procedures that its firefighters and paramedics follow when responding to sudden cardiac arrest calls. The primary change is an increase in the number of chest compressions administered to victims and a decrease in the amount of time spent on steps that require interruptions in chest compressions.

The Sarver Heart Center and TFD -- a nationally-recognized pioneer in emergency pre-hospital patient care -- believe the changes will significantly improve the survival rates for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.

The final component is a city-wide effort to educate the general public about a new and easier way to do CPR, called Continuous Chest Compression CPR. Heart Center researchers discovered years ago that overwhelming numbers of people will not perform CPR because they do not want to do mouth-to-mouth breathing. More recent research has found that stopping for mouth-to-mouth breathing is more harmful than helpful. Standard CPR, which calls for two mouth-to-mouth breaths after every 15 compressions, leads to a dire consequence: When chest compressions are stopped, none of the body's organs are receiving any oxygenated blood.

With CCC-CPR, there not only is a better chance of bystander participation, but a much greater chance that the victim will survive.