Rise in number of heart attack victims being helped by members of the public

Almost half of Scots who suffer a heart attack outside of hospitals have CPR performed on them by passers by, new figures have revealed.

Bystandercprcanbecrucial in helping heart attack victims survive, with the number of people who receive such help on the rise.

Over the period 2011 to 201415, just over two-fifths (41.3 per cent) of those who suf- fered an out of hospital cardiac arrest received this, with this increasing to 49.3 per cent in 2015-16 to 2016-17.

NHS data also showed in 2016-17 that Scottish Ambulance Service staff resuscitated 3,455 patients who had a heart attack, up from 2,692 in 2011-12.

Public health minister Aileen Campbell said: “It’s incredibly encouraging to see more people than ever before are surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and go home to friends and family. The latest stats also show almost half of those who suffer an out-ofhospital cardiac arrest receive bystander CPR.

“This is critical to improving survival, but we know we have more to do and will continue to work to encourage everyone to get involved and learn these lifesaving skills. A key part of this is the work of our Save Life For Scotland partners, who since 2015 have equipped over 200,000 people across Scotland with CPR.”