Global awareness of sudden cardiac arrest: insights from worldwide cross-sectional survey
A Bonny, M Temgoua, L Allam, T Shogade, B Dembele, Z CheuyemAbstract
Background
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and death (SCD) represent a major public health concern, given its substantial impact on global mortality rates. The recognition and rescue of collapse remain a great concern everywhere. Early SCA recognition, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation efforts can significantly improve survival, yet public awareness and preparedness vary widely across populations. This study aimed to evaluate the general public’s knowledge and attitudes related to SCA recognition, CPR, and automated external defibrillator (AED) use across diverse global regions.
Method
A multilingual, cross-sectional online survey was conducted from January 2025 to February 2026, collecting data related to the knowledge and attitudes of individuals around the World. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed using R Statistics version 4.5.2.
Results
Up to date, 2293 people from 64 countries, 5 continents (Africa, Europe, North and South America, Asia) filled in the questionnaire. Most participants were male (55.1%), aged 25–44 years (53.1%) and a tertiary level of education (67.9%). Less than one-third of respondents (27.6%) reported prior CPR training, mainly through the Red Cross or other private local initiative. The confusion of the terms "heart attack" and "cardiac arrest" concerns half of people. Most of the respondents (85.8%) expressed interest in CPR training while SCA was correctly recognized by 45.0% and only 14.9% knew how to use an AED. Although 60.9% were willing to provide chest compressions, less than one-third (26.9%) were able were able to perform CPR when required. Nearly two-third (64.0%) were confident about calling emergency services if needed. Multivariate analysis shows that lack of CPR training significantly predicted poor CPR knowledge (aOR=28.8, p<0.001) and limited AED use (aOR=7.19, p<0.001). Non-healthcare workers had significantly lower knowledge of CPR (aOR=4.8, p<0.001) and AED use (aOR=3.9, p<0.001). Responders from Africa had lower odds of AED knowledge (aOR=6.85, p<0.001) compared to Europe, North-America (aOR=2.06, p=0.019) and Asia (aOR=2.44, p=0.082).
Conclusion
Global awareness of SCD, confidence in recognizing SCA, and using CPR or AED remain suboptimal, especially in low-resource settings. CPR training and the resident location (geographical region) are key determinants of being able to rescue victims (knowledge and preparedness). Large-scale training initiatives are urgently needed to empower the general populations in first-responder roles worldwide (community level response to SCD worldwide)