(March 11, 2008 - Insidermedicine) In those who experience cardiac arrest outside of the hospital, resuscitation efforts that focus on keeping the blood flowing through the heart and brain result in better survival than traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), according to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Here are some facts about CPR and cardiac arrest:

•    Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm to the point that it can no longer pump blood throughout the body.

•    If you come across someone experiencing cardiac arrest, the best way to help them is by calling for emergency services and starting CPR.

•    CPR is an emergency technique involving chest compressions and artificial respiration that helps restore blood flow while emergency services arrive.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale compared if people lived after having a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting before and after training emergency personnel in a new resuscitation technique. This new technique, called minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation (MICR), involves focusing efforts on using over 200 chest compressions and not breathing into the patients mouth.

Overall, 886 patients experienced cardiac arrest. Among those who went into cardiac arrest before emergency personnel were trained in MICR only 1 in 50 patients survived. This rate jumped to 1 in 20  after emergency personnel were trained in MICR. In a second analysis, evaluating over 1700 patients, 4 out of 100 survived with traditional techniques, whereas 1 in 10 who received MICR survived.

Today's research highlights the importance of keeping blood flowing through the heart and brain during emergency resuscitation efforts in order to maximize the chances of survival among individuals who experience cardiac arrest.

For insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Allison Chow.