There’s a 10-minute window to give CPR after a heart attack

If someone has a heart attack, you have up to 10 minutes to start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

Of course, the sooner you do CPR the better, but the window is bigger than many think and full recovery is still possible even if it is administered up to 10 minutes after the heart attack.  “The longer it took for CPR to start, the less survival benefit was seen.  But even when CPR was started up to 10 minutes after cardiac arrest, there was still a significant benefit,” said Evan O’Keefe from the American Heart Association.

Those who were given CPR within two minutes after suffering a heart attack had an 81 percent chance of full recovery and were up to 95 percent less likely to suffer any brain damage compared to someone who wasn’t treated.  Among people given CPR up to 10 minutes after a heart attack, 9 percent survived without any brain injury or disability.

Around 357,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year, and around 9.3 percent survive.

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