Systematic approach to CPR training urged.

Canada should develop a systematic and compulsory approach to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator training for all high school students and seniors, experts say. There's a particular need to train more people aged 55 or older as they are most likely to make use of CPR training, given that 85% of cardiac arrests occur in the home in the presence of family, argues Dr. Christian Vaillancourt, research chair in emergency cardiac resuscitation at the University of Ottawa in Ontario and principle author of a Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) proposal to introduce compulsory CPR training as a condition of graduation from Canadian high schools. An estimated 45 000 Canadians suffer cardiac arrests annually and less than 5% of those who suffer cardiac arrests outside of a hospital survive, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. "It must become a moral obligation and a social expectation that bystanders will perform CPR when they witness a cardiac arrest," states the CAEP position statement on bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation "The general population must come to understand that cardiac resuscitation is much more likely to be successful when CPR is started promptly, and the victims of cardiac arrest will almost certainly die if lay witnesses do not intervene. There must be widespread recognition that CPR is a simple but vital life skill everyone should learn and then put into practice in emergency situations." Along with mandatory CPR training in schools, the position paper urges tax exemptions for CPR education. "Many people, including low income senior citizens, choose not to enroll in a CPR course due to the expense. A 100% tax rebate would clearly offset this obstacle. More importantly, it would provide a compelling tax incentive to a large company to sponsor CPR education for its employees which, in turn, would ensure a safer workplace." The CAEP, which believes all Canadians should be trained in CPR, notes that an estimated 60% of all Canadians have received some measure of such training in their lifetimes but that those skills "are often not practiced and kept up-to-date, leading to hesitation and inaction when faced with a cardiac arrest situation. Vaillancourt says that compulsory CPR training for high school students would be "a step in the right direction" but it's even more critical to target training at older adults, as they're at highest risk of heart attacks. "If you look at the immediate …