15:2 or 30:2 — odds are, most people would choose the first. But, the American Heart Association advises Americans to choose the second.

For years these same people have taught that Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR for short, should include two rescue breaths for every 15 chest compressions.

The new recommendation, as of late November, puts more emphasis on chest compressions than on mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, though the rescue breaths remain part of the guidelines.

“Basically, the more times someone pushes on the chest, the better off the patient is,” said Dr. Michael Sayre, an Ohio State University emergency medicine professor who helped develop the new guidelines.

Studies show that the return of blood circulation, a key in reviving patients, increases and must be built up after each interruption.

“We have made things simpler,” Sayre said. “Push hard on the person’s chest and push fast.”

The new guidelines, presented by the AHA at a press conference in Dallas, Nov. 28, are intended for everyone, which is good news for those who experience cardiac arrest — when the heart suddenly stops beating. 

Although more than 300,000 people die from cardiac arrest yearly in the United States alone, their chances for survival more than double when they are given effective CPR.

“The most common reason many people die from cardiac arrest is no one nearby knows CPR,” Sayre said. “For the bystander who witnesses a collapse, the main danger is inaction.”

More than nine out of 10 cardiac arrest victims die before they get to the hospital, according to the AHA.  The new guidelines are both effective and easier for the average person to handle, Sayre said.

The recommendations are based on an international review conducted by an AHA panel. Three hundred and eighty researchers analyzed data from over 20,000 human and animal studies and found that more chest compressions led to increased blood flow.

“The bottom line is we think more people need to learn CPR,” said Mary Fran Hazinski, a clinical nurse specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who helped develop the guidelines. “We have more and more evidence that good CPR works. We’re doing our best to increase the number of bystanders who learn CPR.”