Mike Stobbe, AP More bystanders are willing to attempt CPR if an
emergency dispatcher gives them firm and direct instructions —
especially if they can just press on the chest and skip the
mouth-to-mouth, according to new research. The two new studies
conclude that hands-only chest compression is enough to save a
life. The American Heart Association has been promoting hands-
only CPR for two years, though it's not clear how much it's
caught on. The new studies should encourage dispatchers and
bystanders to be more aggressive about using the simpler
technique. “That could translate into hundreds if not thousands
of additional lives saved each year,” said Dr. Arthur
Kellermann, a RAND Corporation expert on emergency medicine. An
estimated 310,000 Americans die each year of cardiac arrest
outside hospitals or in emergency rooms. Only about six percent
of those who are stricken outside a hospital survive. When
someone collapses and stops breathing, many people panic and
believe that phoning 911 is the best they can