Female heart attack victims are less likely to get CPR assistance

WOMEN suffering heart attacks are less likely to receive CPR from members of the public over fears they could be charged with sexual assault, research suggests.

In the wake of the Metoo movement, researchers from the British Heart Foundation asked dozens of people – many trained in first aid – why they might be unwilling to give lifesaving heart massage to females.

Several themes emerged, including fears that they would be accused of inappropriate touching or assault, or concerns that women were more likely to over-dramatise, or fake an incident.

There was also worry that breasts made CPR more challenging. Previous research has shown that 45 per cent of men who suffer heart attacks in public receive CPR, compared to 39 per cent of women. Although the chance of surviving a heart attack is less than 12 per cent, heart massage can triple the odds. Worries about accusations of sexual assault or inappropriate touching were cited twice as many times by men as by women, while more women mentioned fear of causing injury.

Lead author Dr Sarah Perman, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said: “The consequences of all of these major themes is that women will potentially receive no CPR or delays in initiation of CPR.”

Research found that around one in five adults in the UK will witness someone collapse who needs immediate CPR at some point, yet most do not act.

There are more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests across the UK every year, but less than one in 10 survive. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association Resuscitation Science Symposium in Chicago.