Arizona ranks in the top 20 percent of states when it comes to lower rates of cardiovascular death. That’s according to a United Health Foundation reportabout health indicators across the country. Medical professionals across the state have worked for more than a decade to improve cardiac arrest survival rates.
Dr. Ben Bobrow is a doctor of emergency medicine and has been involved in the effort to reduce deaths from cardiac arrest for the past 12 years. He said now, patients in Arizona have between 35 and 50 percent chance of surviving. Bobrow said educating bystanders on CPR and improving EMS response are essential to patient survival.
“It’s paid off so much that we’re applying this same model of care for other time critical illnesses," he said. "Things like stroke and even traumatic brain injury.”
Bobrow said doctors from other countries come to Arizona to learn how to improve cardiac arrest survival rates.
Arizona didn’t fare so well in other health indicators. The state ranked 43rd for children younger than 3 who are current on their immunizations.
Arizona is also second to last for public health funding per capita. This year the state spent $39 per person, compared to the national average of $86 per person.
Source: United Health Foundation
