A new study at Denmark’s Aalborg University Hospital shows that the chance of a person returning to work after a heart attack increases by 40 percent if that person gets immediate first aid in comparison with those who don’t get any help until an ambulance arrives.

“When a bystander gives heart massage and artificial respiration it helps get oxygen to the brain. Doing so minimizes the risk of permanent brain damage, which is the underlying mechanism for allowing survivors to return to everyday life and get back to work,” says study lead author Kristian Kragholm, a clinical assistant at Aalborg University Hospital and a Ph.D. student at Aalborg University, in a press release.

The study recommends that if someone sees a person collapse from a heart attack, the bystander should call emergency services and get instructions from people there on what to do while waiting for help, if the person is not trained in first aid.

More people should be ready to help. Taking a first aid course is mandatory when applying for a driver’s license and junior and lower secondary school students receive first aid training during school hours

The study was completed with the support of the foundation TrygFonden and was recently published in the journal Circulation.

Source: Science Nordic