The number of people living in highrise buildings in rising,
but along with the convenience and panoramic views of a downtown condo comes a
risk: a new study found that survival rates from cardiac arrest decrease the
higher up the building a person lives.
“Cardiac arrests that occur in highrise buildings pose
unique barriers for 911-initiated first responders,” said Ian Drennan, lead
author of the study published today in the Canadian Medical Association
Journal.
“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,” he said.
Drennan is a paramedic with York Region Paramedic Services
and a researcher with Rescu, a group based at St. Michael’s Hospital that
studies emergency health care that begins outside of a hospital.
Looking at data from 8,216 adults who suffered an
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treated by 911-initiated first responders in the
City of Toronto and nearby Peel Region from January 2007 to December 2012, they
found 3.8 per cent survived until they could be discharged from a hospital.
Survival was 4.2 per cent for people living below the third floor and 2.6 per
cent for people living on or above the third floor.