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British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1987 Feb 7;294(6568):352–354. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6568.352

One thousand heart attacks in Grampian: the place of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in general practice.

G R Pai, N E Haites, J M Rawles
PMCID: PMC1245359  PMID: 3101873

Abstract

The outcome of 1011 heart attacks in patients under the care of general practitioners who practised cardiopulmonary resuscitation and were equipped with defibrillators is reported. The 28 day mortality was 36% (367 patients), and 59% of deaths occurred outside hospital. The general practitioner was the first medical contact in 92% of heart attacks and was equipped with a defibrillator in 80% of such calls. Fifty six patients had a cardiac arrest in the presence of a general practitioner, and resuscitation was attempted in 47 cases, representing 5% of all calls for heart attacks. Twenty one (45%) resuscitated patients reached hospital alive, and 13 (28%) survived to leave hospital. The opportunities for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in general practice occur sufficiently often to warrant training and equipping general practitioners for advanced life support. The results of resuscitation by general practitioners working alone compare favourably with those of mobile coronary care units based in hospitals.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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