EASIER, MORE EFFECTIVE CPR

Cardio- pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) saves life. Now its accepted that a hands-only method is preferable to the classic push -and -breathe: This pared down method saves more lives. Here's why:

• Studies show that if your heart were to suddenly stop as you walked down the street, you'd have a little chance of getting CPR from a bystander - unless you're lucky.

• If someone did lead forward to perform effective CPR, your chance of survival would double or even triple.

• Bystanders are much more willing to help if they don't have to worry about germs from stranger's mouth. After an education campaign in Arizona, USA, 40 percent of victims got CPR, compared with 28 percent before the information initiative began.

Hands- only is not just more acceptable - it's more effective, says Anthony Komaroff, MD,    editor - in - chief of Harvard Health Letter. "When a person collapses, there's enough oxygen in the blood  that you don't need to breathe for them.What you need to do is keep that blood circulating to protect the brain and the rest of the body. The time you spend breathing - when you can't be pushing on the chest - is actually harming the patient."

CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, MD, also put this change on his list. "Hands - only CPR is easy to learn," he says. "And that means any- one in the room can save a life." To find a CPR class, go to heart.org.