Health Update: Heart attack help is just a phone call away

ANYONE who does not know how to resuscitate but is faced with a heart attack victim should ask for instructions over the telephone from the ambulance controller. HeartStart Scotland, a project organised by the British Heart Foundation and the Scottish Ambulance Service, says in Monitor Weekly that survival rates could be doubled if bystanders tried to resuscitate victims before the arrival of the ambulance.

The project has ensured that ambulances in Scotland are equipped with defibrillators and crews are skilled in resuscitation. Ambulance controllers have been trained in offering resuscitation instructions by telephone.