Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Knowledge and Experience Among Dentists in Turkey

Heart disease is one of the most common diseases in the world, resulting in high morbidity and high cost to health. Cardiac arrest is a common cause of death in developed countries (1). According to the American Heart Association (AHA), cardiac arrest is described as “discontinuation of cardiac mechanical activity, verified by lack of measurable pulse, apnea, and loss of awareness” (2). The heart’s resistance to anoxia is fairly strong however if the anoxia persists more than 3 or 4 minutes, the central nervous system may show permanent lesions. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the provision of blood and oxygen to these organs to satisfy the metabolic needs of the myocardium and brain when sudden cardiac arrest occurs due to reversible reasons. CPR is an emergency procedure that aims to restore spontaneous circulation by performing compressions of the chest with or without ventilation (3). According to the AHA, CPR is a component of the “chain of survival”. The chain is a series of actions that help provide a person with a heart attack the highest chance of survival (4).