Research indicates that bystanders are less inclined to administer CPR to women.
In Paris, researchers revealed that in cases of cardiac arrest occurring in public, bystanders are more reluctant to provide CPR to women compared to men. This gender disparity in CPR response contributes to a higher mortality rate among women facing this common health emergency. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) involves a combination of mouth-to-mouth ventilation and chest compressions, which helps circulate blood to the brain of individuals whose hearts have ceased beating, potentially delaying fatal outcomes until professional medical assistance arrives.
In a study set to be presented at a medical conference in Spain this week, though it hasn’t undergone peer review yet, a group of Canadian physicians aimed to explore the variations in how bystanders perform CPR on men and women.
Their investigation focused on data from non-hospital cardiac arrests that occurred in the United States (US) and Canada from 2005 to 2015, involving almost 40,000 patients.
According to the research, approximately 54 percent of these patients received CPR from bystanders.
In instances of cardiac arrests occurring in public settings, like on the street, 61 percent of women received CPR assistance from a bystander, whereas 68 percent of men did.
Dr. Alexis Cournoyer, an emergency physician from Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal who led the study, informed AFP that this difference “undoubtedly raises the risk of higher mortality among women following a cardiac arrest.”
Sudden cardiac arrests represent a prominent cause of mortality, with over 350,000 cases reported annually in the United States, as stated by the American Heart Association. Studies have revealed that merely about 10 percent of individuals experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital environment manage to survive.
Recognition obstacle.
The researchers aimed to uncover the cause behind this gender disparity, and one hypothesis they considered was that bystanders in public settings might feel uncomfortable administering chest compressions on a woman without obtaining consent, as Dr. Cournoyer suggested.
The researchers investigated whether age might have a role in this, he added.
However, the data revealed that age did not appear to be a factor, as women were consistently less likely to receive CPR from bystanders compared to men, regardless of their age.
Dr. Cournoyer proposed another potential explanation, which he referred to as a “recognition barrier” for women experiencing cardiac arrests, often portrayed as a condition primarily affecting men. This perception may be influenced by the fact that men are more likely to exhibit chest pain, a symptom commonly depicted in the media, while women are more inclined to experience shortness of breath, as indicated by a recent study published in Lancet Digital Health.
Dr. Cournoyer stressed the need for additional research to elucidate the gender gap, particularly by collecting data on the gender of those administering CPR.
The research, slated for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, is scheduled to be presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress 2023 in Barcelona.
