Research
Community and EMS training did not improve cardiac arrest survival
The training program did not improve survival with favorable neurologic outcomes: rates were 9% in intervention communities and 9.4% in other communities.
An intensive community and emergency-service training program did not improve survival with favorable neurologic outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to results of the RACE-CARS trial presented at AHA 2026 and published in NEJM.
Researchers compared 60 North Carolina counties that received training in CPR, AED use and emergency response with counties receiving usual care. STAT reported that 22,459 adults had cardiac arrests during the five-year study. ACC reported that 9% of patients in intervention communities and 9.4% in other communities survived to hospital discharge with favorable brain function.
ACC said bystander CPR was performed in 44.8% of cases in intervention communities and 42.3% in other communities. In the final year, patients in intervention communities had 33% higher odds of receiving bystander CPR. STAT reported that the researchers plan to follow the population for at least another year.
