Television characters who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital are more likely to receive CPR than people in real life. But the CPR on these shows often about who is most likely to experience cardiac arrest and where, according to newly published research from my team at the University of Pittsburgh.
How CPR is portrayed in the media is important to understand because research has shown that . When Buffalo Bills player in January 2023, the world watched as medical professionals swiftly performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Hamlin went on to make a full recovery, and in the aftermath, a team of emergency medicine professionals and I at the University of Pittsburgh – where Hamlin is an alumnus – worked to .
During the CPR training we held at Pittsburgh area middle schools and college athletic programs, participants frequently asked whether they should check for a pulse or give rescue breaths. Many mentioned seeing CPR on television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy.” While these are steps that , hands-only CPR is an effective version recommended for untrained bystanders. After determining the person needs help and the scene is safe, hands-only CPR has : Calling 911 and giving hard and fast chest compressions.
As someone who , this piqued my curiosity. I wondered whether participants asked about checking a pulse or giving breaths in part because they saw these practices on screen.
The power of media
In 2022, my team and I analyzed 165 studies on the effects that health and medical content on scripted television has on viewers. We found that TV stories can . Sometimes this influence can be harmful, such as exposing viewers to from television. But sometimes it can be positive – one study found that viewers of an “ER” storyline about breast cancer were who supports patients through treatment.
However, we hadn’t found any studies examining how seeing CPR on screen influences viewers. While previous studies on in-hospital cardiac arrest and CPR with and in media, none had looked at portrayals of cardiac arrest that occur outside of hospitals and CPR conducted by a lay rescuer.
Performing CPR on TV
My team searched the Internet Movie Database to identify episodes in American TV shows that depict out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or hands-only CPR. We limited our results to episodes released after . Of the 169 episodes that fit our criteria, we documented the sociodemographic characteristics of the character experiencing cardiac arrest and the primary witnesses, as well as whether, how and where hands-only CPR was administered.
On a positive note, we found that over 58% of on-screen characters who experienced cardiac arrest outside a hospital . But in real life, less than 40% of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital receive CPR. Seeing such high rates of CPR being performed on screen could motivate viewers to act, as in the case of a 12-year-old boy who saved a life in 2023 .”
However, less than 30% of episodes . Almost 50% of episodes showed characters giving rescue breaths, and 43% of episodes had characters checking for a pulse. While we didn’t directly assess whether these episodes influence how viewers behave, based on our observations while conducting CPR training, it’s clear that these depictions may mislead viewers about how to administer hands-only CPR.
Who gets CPR and where on screen
Our findings also raise concern that how cardiac arrest is depicted on TV may mislead viewers about where cardiac emergencies happen and who may need CPR the most.
Of the on-screen cardiac arrests that didn’t occur at a hospital, we found that . In real life, over 80% of nonhospital-based cardiac arrests occur at home.
Additionally, those experiencing cardiac arrest on screen were younger than those in real life, with . In real life, the average age is about 62.
Lastly, we found that almost 65% of the people receiving hands-only CPR and 73% of rescuers performing CPR . This is consistent with real-world statistics, where people of color and women who experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital are .
Accurate TV to save lives
The American Heart Association’s 2025 guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care emphasized the need to help the general public and improve CPR education to ensure all people who need CPR receive it.
Our team is working to understand what viewers take away from TV depictions of CPR, with the goal of collaborating with public health and medical professionals to improve how CPR is portrayed in Hollywood.
Previous research has shown that entertainment narratives have the power to , and news reports have documented instances of . Similarly, I believe scripted, compelling television may be a powerful, cost-effective way to improve CPR education and ultimately save lives.
Original article
Comments