Declaration on establishing a European cardiac arrest awareness week

The European Parliament adopted a declaration on establishing a European cardiac arrest awareness week signed by 395 members.

Parliament recalls that in Europe approximately 400 000 people suffer an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest every year, with a survival rate of less than 10%. It underlines that the survival of many apparently healthy victims depends on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) administered by bystanders and early defibrillation (an intervention within 3-4 minutes may increase the chance of survival to more than 50%).

Recalling that in Europe, automated external defibrillator (AED) programmes are only partially implemented, Parliament calls on the Commission and the Council to encourage:

• the adoption of common programmes for implementing AED in public places and training lay people in all Member States,
• the adjustment of legislation in order to facilitate CPR and defibrillation by non-medical persons,
• systematic data collection for feedback and quality management in every programme.

Parliament also calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish a European cardiac arrest awareness week aimed at improving the awareness and education of the general public, physicians and healthcare professionals.

In addition, the Commission is called upon to:

• support the Member States in adopting and implementing national strategies for equal access to high-quality CPR;
• enact harmonised legislation across the EU in order to provide immunity from liability to non-medical first responders who offer voluntary assistance in cardiac emergencies.