Long Beach Medical Center Launches Community Effort to Improve Bystander CPR Rates

Only 33% of cardiac arrest victims in Los Angeles County received bystander CPR in 2023, according to data from the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency. At MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, nearly 170 cases of cardiac arrest patients were treated between July 2024 and June 2025 - yet of those, less than half-only 45%-received bystander CPR before arriving at the hospital. To help close this gap, Long Beach Medical Center is focused on increasing bystander CPR education and training throughout the Long Beach community.

"These figures are alarming, as prompt CPR can significantly improve the chances of survival for cardiac arrest victims," said Khiet Hoang, M.D., medical director, Emergency Cardiac Services, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Long Beach Medical Center. "Seventy percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home, so cardiac arrest is rarely a stranger's emergency. When family members and friends know what to do, they can step in immediately and dramatically improve the chance of survival. Expanding hands-on training in our community helps remove hesitation and turns bystanders into lifesavers."

Research also highlights significant disparities in who receives life-saving intervention. A landmark 2018 American Heart Association study found that women are less likely to receive bystander CPR than men. In public settings, 45% of men received CPR compared with 39% of women, and men had 29% higher odds of survival than women.

More recent research suggests these disparities persist even when CPR is provided. A 2024 National Institutes of Health-funded national study show women gain significantly less survival benefit than men. In an analysis of more than 600,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, bystander CPR increased survival odds by 35% for men but only 15% for women.

"Women continue to face real barriers when it comes to receiving timely, life-saving CPR," says Nissi Suppogu, M.D., medical director, Women's Heart Center, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Long Beach Medical Center. "Whether it's hesitation, misperception of symptoms or fear of doing something wrong, these delays can cost lives. We need to normalize CPR for women and ensure bystanders feel confident stepping in when every second counts."

Hands-only CPR (compression-only) is an option for people without formal CPR training or those concerned about disease transmission from mouth-to-mouth contact. It helps keep blood flowing to vital organs until emergency responders arrive.

"Hands-only CPR has been shown to be just as effective as conventional CPR when compressions are performed at the correct depth and pace," Hoang said. "A helpful way to maintain the right rhythm is to push to the beat of 'Stayin' Alive' or any song with a tempo of 100 to 120 beats per minute."

As part of its community outreach, Long Beach Medical Center will host its annual Sidewalk CPR event in partnership with the Long Beach Fire Department on Friday, June 5, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Long Beach Exchange. The free event is designed to educate residents on hands-only CPR and increase confidence in responding during cardiac emergencies.

"Hands-only CPR training helps remove the hesitation that prevents people from acting, especially when a woman is experiencing cardiac arrest," said Dr. Suppogu. "When CPR is simple, accessible and widely understood, more bystanders are willing to step in quickly, and that confidence can directly translate to lives saved in Long Beach."