Abstract Background Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with China reporting an incidence of 97.1 per 100,000 person per year. Timely cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) significantly improves survival rates and outcomes. However, in China, bystander CPR attempts remain low at 31.8%, and automated external defibrillator (AED) usage is reported at less than 1%, highlighting a critical gap in emergency response. Given that patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at high risk of cardiac events, their awareness of warning symptoms and proficiency in CPR and AED use are crucial. Purpose This study aims to assess the awareness of warning symptoms of CVD among patients with CVD and evaluate their proficiency in CPR and AED use. Methods We conducted a secondary data analysis using data from a cross-sectional study of patients with CVD at a tertiary hospital in China. Adult patients with CVD were eligible for participation. The investigator-developed questionnaire included items on sociodemographic variables as well as symptoms of CVD and the ability to perform CPR and use an AED. Data were analyzed in R software for the descriptive analysis and logistic regression. Results Total of 223 patients completed the survey. Mean age was 62.2 years (SD 14.2), 88% (n=196) were married, 37% (n=83) have an education level above 12th grade and 65% (n=145) were retired or a full-time home maker. Approximately 80% (n=179) of participants demonstrated inadequate awareness of warning symptoms of CVD, with mean score of 3.3 (SD 2.4, possible range: 0 – 9). Married individuals were less likely to have adequate awareness of CVD symptoms compared to those who were unmarried, divorced, separated, or widowed (adjusted odds ratio aOR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.07–0.42). Participants with a college education or above had significantly higher odds of having adequate CVD symptom awareness compared to those with a high school education or less (aOR = 3.27, 95% CI: 1.59–6.84). Among the participants, 27.8% reported being able to perform CPR. Participants aged 65 years or older had significantly lower odds of performing CPR compared to those under 65 years of age (aOR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.22–0.78). Participants’ ability to use an AED was even lower, with only 10.3% indicating that they could use it. Participants with an illness duration greater than 365 days were more likely to perform AED compared to those with a shorter duration (aOR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.02–6.75). Conclusion This study highlights poor awareness of warning symptoms and CPR and AED performance ability among patients with CVD, suggesting a potential issue within the general population in China. Future research should assess CPR and AED proficiency in the broader population. In nursing practice, educating patients on warning symptoms and performing CPR and AED is crucial. Enhancing these life-saving skills could improve survival rates and outcomes in cardiac emergencies.
Oh et al. (Sat,) studied this question.