Does CPR work?
CPR does not help as much as most of us think. CPR works best if: • You are healthy. • It can be given to you within a few minutes of when your heart or lungs stop working. CPR does not work as well if: • You have chronic health problems. • You have an illness that can no longer be treated. • You are older and weak. If you are in the hospital and get CPR, you have a 17 percent chance of it working and leaving the hospital alive. If you are older, weak, and living in a nursing home, CPR works less than 3 percent of the time.
