People Living In Penthouses Are More Likely To Have A Greater Risk Of Death From Cardiac Arrest, Study Says

Living on top of a high-rise building with its panoramic views conveys status and affluence; however, study shows that people who live on upper floors of the building would likely suffer from cardiac arrest. The study was published on Monday, Jan.18 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

According to The Globe and Mail, the survival rate of people living below the third floor is 4.2 percent. On the other hand, there is only a 2.6 percent survival rate for people living on other upper floors.

The researchers found out in their study, which involved over 8,000 cases of cardiac arrest in Southern Ontario, that paramedics took about two minutes longer to reach the patients who were on the third floor or higher. They also said that there is an added time to ride an elevator and climb the stairs. Hence, people who were staying in the lower levels had their initial shockable heart rhythm when the paramedics came.

The research does not actually prove that living on upper floors causes a decrease of cardiac arrest survival rate. But, researchers said that the delayed response of the paramedics due to the impediment in reaching the patients on upper floors could be one of the factors.

Of the 8,000 individuals they examined, the people who lived on the 2^nd floor have a 4.2 percent of survival rate. Hence, those who are on the upper floors up to 15^th floor, the rate fell to 2.6 percent. And for the 16^th floor and higher, it fell to 0.9 percent. On the 25^th floor, nobody survived. The overall survival rate was bad and only about 300 or 3.8 percent of patients survived.

"Cardiac arrests that occur in high-rise buildings pose unique barriers for (paramedics)," Ian Drennan of St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto and the lead author of the study said.

The Telegraph News shared that the scholars are asking for defibrillators to be mounted on the upper floors of the high-rise building. And paramedics must have access to universal keys so they can promptly access the elevators.

"After collapse from sudden cardiac arrest, early bystander CPR and a shock from a publicly accessible automated external defibrillator can make the difference between life and death," Drennan suggested.