minorities less likely to get CPR, findings suggest

CHICAGO (AP)

--People who collapse from cardiac arrest in poor black neighborhoods are half as likely to get CPR from family members at home or bystanders on the street as those in better-off white neighborhoods, according to a study that found the reasons go beyond race.

The findings suggest a big need for more knowledge and training, the researchers said.

The study looked at data on more than 14,000 people in 29 U.S. cities. It's one of the largest to show how race, income and other neighborhood characteristics combine to affect someone's willingness to offer heart-reviving help.

More than 300,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest in their homes or other non-hospital settings every year, and most don't survive. A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops, and it's often caused by a heart attack, but not always. Quick, hard chest compressions can help people survive.

For their study, researchers looked at the makeup of neighborhoods and also the race of the victims. They found that blacks and Hispanics were 30 percent less likely to be aided than white people. The odds were the worst if the heart victim was black in a low-income black neighborhood.