Statistics Show CPR is a Skill Worth Learning

Every year, thousands of people experience cardiac arrest outside of hospitals—and most of them don’t survive. But there’s something simple that can significantly change those odds: CPR. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation isn’t just a medical procedure; it’s a life-saving skill that more people need to know.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers behind CPR and what they reveal about its impact—and the urgent need for wider awareness and training.

Cardiac Arrest: A Silent Killer

• Over 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur annually in the United States.

  
  

• Nearly 90% of these incidents are fatal, especially if CPR isn’t started immediately.

  
  

• Cardiac arrest can strike anyone—young or old, healthy or ill—and it often happens without warning.

  
  

These numbers may sound grim, but there’s good news: bystander CPR can make a huge difference.

CPR Saves Lives—When It’s Given Quickly

• Immediate CPR can double or even triple a person’s chance of survival.

  
  

• Survival rates for witnessed cardiac arrests with bystander CPR jump to nearly 45%, compared to just 10% without it.

  
  

• For every minute without CPR, survival chances decrease by 10%.

  
  

• After 10 minutes without CPR, the chances of survival are almost zero.

  
  

These stats underscore a simple truth: every second counts, and every person trained in CPR counts even more.

Bystander CPR: The Training Gap

Despite its proven benefits, CPR is still not performed often enough:

• Fewer than 40% of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR.

  
  

• In some communities, that number is even lower—especially in rural or underserved areas.

One major reason for this is that many people simply don’t know how to perform CPR—or they’re afraid of doing it wrong. But even imperfect CPR is better than doing nothing at all.

AEDs and CPR: A Powerful Pair

• An automated external defibrillator (AED) used within the first few minutes can improve survival rates to 70%.

  
  

• However, AEDs are only effective when people are trained and willing to use them—many bystanders hesitate or don’t know where to find one.

  
  

Combining CPR and AED use is the best-case scenario—and both are skills that can be learned in just a couple of hours.

CPR in Children and Teens

• Approximately 7,000 children experience cardiac arrest each year in the U.S.

  
  

• Bystander CPR in pediatric cases increases survival and improves neurological outcomes.

  
  

• Despite this, fewer people are confident performing CPR on children or infants due to fear or lack of training.

  
  

The Bottom Line: CPR Training Saves Lives

• Over 1 million lives could potentially be saved each year if more people were trained in CPR.

  
  

• Widespread CPR education in schools, workplaces, and communities could change the landscape of cardiac arrest survival entirely.

  
  

Conclusion 

The statistics speak for themselves: CPR saves lives, and the more people trained to do it, the better the outcomes. But numbers alone won’t change the world—it takes people stepping up to learn the skill, share the knowledge, and act when it matters most.