CPR Facts & Statistics

Date Published: October 2, 2024
Date Updated: March 27, 2025

Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Facts

• Each year EMS cares for more than 350,000 individuals in the United States experiencing a non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Approximately 90% of persons who experience an OHCA die.
• Survival to hospital discharge from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) after receiving treatment from emergency medical services (EMS) is less than 10% in the United States. (Source)
• Just over 70% of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in the home, so the life you may save could be a family member or a friend.
• For the past 20 years, the survival rate for cardiac arrest has hovered around 10 percent for out-of-hospital incidences and 21 percent for in-hospital events, yet research shows that high-quality CPR has a significant impact on survival outcomes, whether inside or outside the hospital.
• Survival chances decrease by 10% for every minute that immediate CPR and use of an AED is delayed.
• Immediate CPR can triple the chance of survival.

Highlights from CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival) 2023 Annual Report (Source)

• 41.2% of patients received bystander CPR.
• 26.1% of patients survived hospital admission.
• 11.7% of patients who arrested in public had bystander applied AED.
• 10.2% of patients survived to hospital discharge.
• 79.6% of discharged patients had a positive neurological outcome (CPC 1 or 2).

• Etiology: In 2023, 82.4% of adult (>18 years of age) OHCAs were presumed to be of a cardiac cause. Other causes of adult OHCA included: respiratory/asphyxia (8.8%), drug overdose (7.0%), exsanguination/hemorrhage (0.7%), drowning/ submersion (0.5%), and other medical (0.6%) (Source).
• Demographics: In 2023, the majority of CARES patients were male (63.0%). Of the reported OHCA events, 97.3% were adults and 2.7% were children, aged 18 years and younger. The median age of OHCA patients was 65.0 years. The age distribution varied significantly between males and females, with females having a higher median age of arrest. (Source)
• Location of Arrest: The most common location for an OHCA is in a residential setting, with 71.4% of events occurring in a home. Other common arrest locations include nursing home (10.4%), public or commercial building (7.6%), street or highway (5.2%), and healthcare facility (3.0%). (Source)
• Early Defibrillation: With more than 30% of OHCAs occurring in public locations, the role of public access AEDs and community training have a large role to play in early defibrillation. However, the application of AEDs by bystanders remains relatively low, occurring after only 11.7% of public arrests. (Source)

Red Cross Training Facts and Statistics

• Every community is safer, thanks to the nearly 3.8 million people who train each year in Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED classes.
• 5,000+ healthcare facilities choose Red Cross Resuscitation Suite BLS, ALS and PALS programs.
• More than 824,000 healthcare professionals and first responders trained in the Red Cross Resuscitation Suite™ programs, with approximately 3.6 million trained in BLS, ALS and PALS since 2016.

Why Training Matters:

A recent American Red Cross survey of 2,000 U.S. adults age 18 and older revealed strong interest in First Aid, CPR, and AED training. The results confirmed that 4 out of every 10 adults have completed, or are interested in taking, a lifesaving course. Among those with prior training experience, 7 out of 10 want to refresh their skills.

The study concluded that individuals are motivated to train primarily because they want to be prepared and keep their families safe. The next largest reason was to keep their community safe. These individuals also expressed feeling helpless during emergencies and want to be better prepared.

For those adults who trained in CPR, AED, and First Aid, positive outcomes were reported: 69% felt more prepared, 63% felt more confident, and almost half were relieved because they had the skills to act when moments mattered.