How every second counts

MOST cardiac arrest survivors have the heart restarted within 30 minutes of CPR beginning.

But modern resuscitation techniques are increasing survival times. People can recover when their heart has stopped for more than an hour.

If CPR starts early – and every second counts – someone can be technically dead for this long without any brain damage. They are more likely to die if no defibrillator is used or they have no electrical heart activity for 20 minutes.

A cardiac arrest means the heart stops pumping blood around the body.

Only eight out of 100 people who have one in Britain survive to leave hospital.