• Susie H Cartledge, Janet E Bray, Dion Stub, Henry Krum, and Judith Finn.
• Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia. Electronic address: susie.cartledge@monash.edu.
• Heart Lung Circ. 2016 Jun 1; 25 (6): 607-12.

BackgroundCardiac rehabilitation may provide an ideal environment to train high-risk cardiac patients and their families in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). However, whether this training is currently offered is unknown. The aims of this study were to: 1) describe the prevalence of CPR training in cardiac rehabilitation programs in Australia and New Zealand (NZ); and 2) examine perceived barriers and attitudes of cardiac rehabilitation coordinators towards providing CPR training.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional online survey of Australian and NZ cardiac rehabilitation coordinators.ResultsWe received 253 completed surveys (46.7% response rate) (Australia n=208, NZ n=45). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training was included in 23.9% of Australian programs and 56.6% in NZ. Common barriers to CPR training included lack of resources (49.7%) and a lack of awareness to provide CPR training for this high-risk group (33.7%). The majority of coordinators believed that lay people should be trained in CPR (96.3%) and were comfortable with recommending CPR training to this high-risk group (89.4%).ConclusionsWhile cardiac rehabilitation coordinators have positive attitudes towards CPR training, it is not currently part of most programs - particularly in Australia. Organisations formulating cardiac rehabilitation recommendations and guidelines should give consideration to include the provision of CPR training.Copyright © 2016 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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