Perform CPR on gasping cardiac arrest victims, study urges

"Almost half of people in cardiac arrest make gasping, grunting or snoring sounds - which may stop bystanders from starting CPR because they think the person is still breathing, experts are warning. A new study found 39 per cent of people in cardiac arrest gasp or make other 'unusual vocal sounds.' Guidelines for basic life support state that rescuers should start CPR if someone is unconscious, not moving and not breathing - even if they take occasional gasps. Yet, 'all too often bystanders (even physicians) who were 'willing and able' to do CPR delayed because the victim was gasping,' Arizona researchers write in a study published in the medical journal Circulation"