Smartphone app for cardiac arrest cuts emergency response time by three minutes

Aiming to reach cardiac arrest patients quicker, researchers have developed a smartphone application capable of connecting first responders to cardiac arrest victims before emergency responders arrive.

Created by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), a section of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the EHRA First Responder App has a goal of decreasing the time it takes for emergency services to reach cardiac arrest victims. With each minute that passes in the event of a cardiac arrest decreasing survival by 10 percent, researchers are utilizing the reach of smartphones to connect first responders to victims.

"Sudden cardiac arrest is lethal within minutes if left untreated," said EHRA spokesperson Dr. Christian Elsner. "In Europe, the emergency services arrive around nine minutes after a cardiac arrest. Every minute earlier raises the probability of survival by 10% and reduces the risk of brain injury, which starts four minutes after cardiac arrest."

Currently, bystanders only perform resuscitation 30-60 percent of the time in the event of cardiac arrest. The app hopes to reduce the time between cardiac arrest and resuscitation by using global positioning systems to locate “rescuers” and direct them to the victim to administer treatment before emergency services arrive.

The app works along emergency operators, who dispatch emergency services alongside locating nearby app rescuers. The nearest rescuers to the victim are alerted on their smartphones and the first to reply is given directions to the patient and perform CPR. Researchers enrolled 600 app rescuers to test the app service for effectiveness in Lübeck, Germany. Results showed 36 percent of app rescuers arrived three minutes before emergency services.

"The software has a standard interface and can be easily connected to most emergency alert systems in Europe in just a few steps," said Elsner. "We provide insurance for app users and we have a guarantee of data security from the German Department for Data Security in Schleswig-Holstein. Ultimately, we will roll the app out across Europe. We hope to raise bystander resuscitation rates to 70-90% and for cardiac arrest patients to be resuscitated in three to four minutes on average."