Although the number of people living in high-rise buildings continues to grow, a new study headed by St. Michael's Hospital says that those living in these buildings face lower survival rates from cardiac arrest. So if you're considering investing in the panoramic view and have heart issues, you might want to reconsider.
"Cardiac arrests that occur in high-rise buildings pose unique barriers for 911-initiated first responders," Ian Drennan, lead author of the study, said in a press release. "Building access issues, elevator delays and extended distance from the emergency vehicle to the patient can all contribute to longer times for 911-initiated first responders to reach the patient and start time-sensitive, potentially life-saving resuscitation."
The study analyzed data from 8,216 adults who experienced cardiac arrest outside of the hospital setting and were treated by first responders in the City of Toronto and Peel Region between the years of January 2007 and December 2012. The results showed that 3.8 percent of people survived until they could be released from a hospital, 4.2 percent of people living below the third floor survived and just 2.6 percent of people living on or above the third floor survived.
Even more interesting, when Drennan and his team went further in their analysis and pinpointed the exact floor that patients lived on, they found that the higher the floor, the lower the survival rate, with those above the 16th floor facing just a 0.9 percent chance of survival; above the 25th floor, there were no records of any survivors to hospital discharge in all of the documented 30 cardiac arrests at this building level.
"Effective CPR performed by a bystander immediately after cardiac arrest can more than double a person's chance of survival, but only 30 per cent of cardiac arrest victims get CPR from a bystander," he said. "With a rapidly deteriorating heart rhythm, in the absence of bystander CPR and defibrillation, cardiac arrests that occurred on higher floors may have a lower probability of survival due to the delay to patient contact by 911-initiated first responders. This early period is essential for bystander interventions by a family member, friend, or other willing person to improve survival."
The findings were published in the Jan. 18 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
