Since most sudden cardiac arrests happen away from professional emergency responders, survivability is increased by the Chain of Survival. The Chain of Survival is a four-link intervention process which can help save lives of patients. The links are early access to emergency care via 911, early CPR (by-stander), early defibrillation (AED) and early advanced care by emergency responders. When each link in the chain works successfully the chance of surviving increases greatly. This measure attempts to highlight the performance of this four-link intervention process. However, the true consequence of cardiac arrest survivability to the community is determined by the patient outcome. Discharge of a person from a medical center who survived a cardiac arrest event, and maintains an acceptable quality of life, is certainly the preferred outcome for the patient and community.
