Cardiac arrest--successful resuscitation in the hospital outside the operating rooms.

It is believed that if physicians generally can bring themselves to carry out the drastic action necessary, the benefits of cardiac massage for patients with reflex inhibition of heartbeat can be extended to most cases of this kind occurring anywhere in a hospital, even though there is not time to summon a surgeon or anesthesiologist. This concept requires that attending physicians be prepared to recognize and treat cardiac arrest in salvageable patients. To carry out massage of the heart, a short incision must be made beneath the left breast to permit grasping the heart and starting it again. Mouth-to-mouth breathing until a mask and oxygen arrive is a necessary part of the procedure. Whether to attempt massage must be a decision entirely up to the physician on his appraisal of the circumstances; but the procedure is probably not advisable outside a hospital.