It's a matter of the heart
The numbers speak for themselves – around 6,000 people outside of hospital care suffer from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) each year. 600 survive.
Every day, people lose their lives in SCAs in our country – and most of the SCAs occur at home. It’s someone’s mother, father, close friend or relative.
To be able to survive a sudden cardiac arrest, it is necessary for someone to start CPR within one minute, and for an AED to be used within three minutes. This increases the survival chances for the victim.
It's a matter of the heart
The numbers speak for themselves – around 6,000 people outside of hospital care suffer from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) each year. 600 survive.
Every day, people lose their lives in SCAs in our country – and most of the SCAs occur at home. It’s someone’s mother, father, close friend or relative.
To be able to survive a sudden cardiac arrest, it is necessary for someone to start CPR within one minute, and for an AED to be used within three minutes. This increases the survival chances for the victim.

Every second counts
To be able to save lives it is important to act immediately, as every second counts.
By following the Chain of Survival, we can increase the survival rates:
- Call 112 (Sweden) as soon as possible, do not hesitate. Rather call once too often than not at all.
- Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within 60 seconds. 30 compressions in the middle of the chest followed by 2 breaths. Continue until the paramedics arrives. If you are more than one performing CPR – relieve each other every 2 minutes.
- Use a defibrillator (AED) as soon as possible – preferably within 180 seconds.
If CPR is started within 60 seconds and an AED is used within 180 seconds, the affected person has a 70–80 % greater chance of survival.
Symptoms of a heart attack
These are some common symptoms of a heart attack:
- You have a continuous heavy pain in the chest, maybe radiating into your arms or back.
- You have an unpleasant feeling in the chest, that might radiate up to your neck, jaws, and shoulders.
- You have difficulty breathing.
- You break out in cold sweat.
- You feel scared and anxious.
- You have palpitations and suffer from dizziness.
- You have flu like symptoms at the same time as chest pains.
Call 112 (Sweden) if you or anyone else are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- You have a pressing or cramping pain in your chest that won’t go away.
- You have a vague and uncomfortable feeling in your chest that lasts longer than 15 minutes that you do not know the reason for.
- You have chest pain at the same time as experiencing shortness of breath and cold sweats or have chest pain in combination with irregular heartbeats.
- Somebody has fainted and has remained fainted for more than one minute.
Cardiac arrest
The brain needs continuous access to blood and oxygen for the body to function normally. In a cardiac arrest, the heart no longer manages to pump blood to the rest of the body’s organs.
Causes for cardiac arrest can be, for example:
- Myocardial infarction (most common)
- Myocarditis
- Lack of oxygen – drowning, suffocation
- Traumatic experiences – accidents, injuries
- Drugs
As a result, the heart rhythm is disturbed, and an electrical chaos ensues. The remaining body organs become deficient in oxygen, which causes the person to lose consciousness.
It is also important to know that cardiac arrest can affect people of all ages, and it can happen all of a sudden – even without any underlying diseases.

How can you save lives in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest?
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is one of the reasons why many people die outside of hospital care. In the case of cardiac arrest, it is important to start CPR and call 112 (Sweden). However, CPR only helps to keep the heart’s circulation going for a short period of time and therefore an AED needs to be used as soon as possible. Using the AED index map on the national AED register web site, you can quickly locate the nearest AED.
You can also become an SMS Lifeguard if you are CPR trained and 18 years of age. Via the rescuer (SMS-livräddare) app, you will be notified if a cardiac arrest occurs in your vicinity and be called to the scene. You may also be guided to fetch the closest AED.
Visit smslivraddare.se for further information!
Knowledge is power – education gives skill
There is a need for increased knowledge for us to be able to save more lives. The Swedish CPR Council (HLR-rådet) recommend annual training, both for private citizens and companies. There are training programmes available in CPR for adults and children, AEDs, and First Aid. Many of the programmes can also be done online.