Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Announces Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survey Results
Over 33,000 Cases Last Year... More Than Half in Their 70s or Older
Highest Survival Rate Recorded Since Surveys Began in 2008
Last year, the survival rate for patients with sudden cardiac arrest reached a record high of 9.2%. Sudden cardiac arrest refers to a condition in which heart activity rapidly declines or stops altogether.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the National Fire Agency on December 9, there were 33,034 cases of sudden cardiac arrest last year (equivalent to 64.7 cases per 100,000 people). The condition occurred more frequently in men (64.3%) than women (35.6%), and the incidence increased with age. In particular, those aged 70 and older accounted for 52.9% of all cases.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation image. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) Pixabay Pixabay
On this day, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and other organizations held the "14th Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survey Symposium" at Woobong Hall in the Medical Library of Seoul National University College of Medicine, where they announced the results of a survey on sudden cardiac arrest patients transported to medical institutions by the 119 emergency medical service last year.
Of the patients transported by the 119 emergency medical service, 32,850 cases (a completion rate of 99.4%) had their medical record reviews completed. The main causes were disease-related factors such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, and stroke, accounting for 76.7%, while non-disease factors such as falls and traffic accidents accounted for 22.8%.
Looking at the specific causes, cardiac-origin causes due to the heart's own functional failure were the most common at 71.7%, followed by falls (5.9%) and traffic accidents (4.7%).
Incidents occurred more frequently in non-public places (63.8%). The home was the most common location (44.8%), while public places such as (high-speed) roads and commercial facilities accounted for 18.1%.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Patient Survival Rate: 9.2%
The survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest patients was 9.2%, and the rate of neurological recovery was 6.3%, both the highest levels since the survey began in 2008. Compared to the previous year, 2023, these figures represent increases of 0.6 percentage points and 0.7 percentage points, respectively.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed by bystanders in 30.3% of cases. When bystander CPR was performed before hospital arrival, the survival rate was 14.4%, compared to 6.1% when it was not performed-meaning the survival rate was 2.4 times higher with CPR. The rate of neurological recovery was also 11.4% with bystander CPR, compared to 3.5% without, making neurological recovery 3.3 times higher when CPR was performed.
At the symposium, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Korean Association of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation also released the revised "2025 Korean Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Guidelines." According to the guidelines, during basic life support, rescuers are advised to place whichever hand is more comfortable on the bottom when performing chest compressions. While chest compressions should be started first in CPR, for cardiac arrest due to drowning, trained rescuers are recommended to begin with rescue breaths.
The guidelines emphasize that hands-on training should be prioritized over remote education, and that devices providing feedback on correct hand placement and chest compression depth-using audio cues or a metronome-should be used during CPR training.
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