A latest study shows researchers using a mobile phone app were able to increase ‘bystander CPR’ with a simple mobile app.

It has been said that researchers in Sweden used a mobile notification system to locate CPR-trained volunteers in immediate area to resuscitate people in cardiac arrest before emergency responders could arrive.

The findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that the mobile on-call system called ‘SMS Lifesavers’ increases the number of bystanders providing emergency CPR for victims of cardiac arrest.

Dr. Jacob Hollenberg, a cardiologist and associate professor at the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Gothenberg, said, “Traditional methods such as mass public training, which are now used throughout the world, are important but have not shown any evidence of a similar increase”.

This new mobile phone text-message alert system clearly shows that the new technology can be used to ensure that more people receive life-saving treatment while wait for an ambulance.

Patients in a larger companion study of 30,000 patients showed a 30-day survival rate after cardiac arrest of more than 10 % when bystanders provided CPR, and only 4% if they did not.

The bystanders administered CPR before medical responders arrived 62 % of the time when the system was used. When the mobile system was not activated, CPR was administered before EMS arrived only 48 % of the time.

Maker of the app said developing a mobile app for the US is possible, but like the Amber alert system, it would require government permissions.

According to the American Heart Association, every year about 359,000 Americans suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospitals. The American Heart Association (AHA) said immediate and properly-administered bystander CPR after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim's chance of survival.