What TV Gets Wrong and How to Get It Right

• A recent analysis by the University of Pittsburgh found that scripted television shows often depict CPR incorrectly when performed by a layperson outside the hospital.
• The analysis also found that those who receive CPR and where they receive it are not depicted in a way that accurately reflects real life.
• The researchers noted that this inaccurate depiction of CPR may influence how the public reacts to real-life emergency situations.

Scripted television shows often depict outdated CPR techniques for non-medical individuals. This can fuel misconceptions and potentially delay the response from bystanders in a real-life moment of cardiac arrest.

The American Heart Association (AHA) endorsed hands-only CPR in 2008. This is a simpler, faster intervention that was shown to be as effective as the previous process, which included rescue breathing.

The American Red Cross also endorses and teaches hand-only CPR in its training for non-medical individuals.

“People should be aware [that] what they see on TV regarding CPR may not always be accurate … Getting this right is important from a public health perspective to send the right message to families regarding the time and place for the most effective method to deliver lifesaving CPR: hands-only or chest compressions,” Robert Glatter, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, and Emergency Department Physician at Northwell Health, told Healthline.

“Initiation of chest compressions is the single most important intervention that the public can initiate, particularly in the home setting, before 911 arrives,” he added.

Glatter was not involved in the new analysis.

The researchers analyzed 169 United States television show episodes that portrayed hands-only CPR since 2008, when the AHA first endorsed this process.

They found that fewer than 30% of the episodes correctly depicted the steps. Nearly half of the episodes demonstrated outdated practices: 48% showed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and 43% showed pulse checks.

“There is no added value to [the] performance of mouth-to-mouth breathing or checking pulses when you see a person who is not breathing who has collapsed,” noted Glatter.

He further added that “saving a life” should focus on “chest compressions only.”

“This singular intervention has been shown to lead to the greatest chances for survival when a person suffers a cardiac arrest,” he explained. “In general, TV is not always representative of [the] real world of medicine and may depict inaccurate information.”

The analysis also found other discrepancies between TV and real life, including who typically receives bystander CPR and where they receive it. The team found that 44% of recipients on TV were between the ages of 21 and 40. In reality, however, the average age of a person receiving CPR is 62.

The shows also depicted that 80% of CPR recipients were in public, whereas in actuality, 80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the home.

There may also be other ways that TV shows incorrectly depict CPR.

Grant has 46 years of experience as a licensed paramedic and was not involved in the study.

“All this leads to poor quality of CPR, which leads to poor circulation of blood and O2 [oxygen],” he added.

The research team noted that disparities in CPR portrayals on TV can skew public perceptions.

“If viewers think cardiac arrest only happens in public or to young people, they may not see CPR training as relevant to their own lives,” Ore Fawole, BS, a recent Pitt graduate who spearheaded the coding and analysis for the study as lead author, stated in a press release.

Glatter noted that the power of TV as a medium to “influence practices such as lifesaving medical interventions should not be understated.” He added that this is why it is so important for directors and medical advisors working on TV shows to “get it right.”

People will “emulate what they see vs. what is correct,” said Grant. “When they show ‘TV CPR’ with their elbows bent doing compressions at the wrong rate, the public will feel this is the correct way, and you cannot get the depth you need to move blood and O2 that is necessary.”

While incorrectly showing CPR on TV may cause some issues, it may also have positive impacts just by being shown.

“I would stress that any CPR is better than no CPR. If watching a show empowers somebody to attempt bystander CPR when they otherwise would not, I think that’s a win rather than a loss,” said Elizabeth Hewett Brumberg, MD, Pediatric emergency physician at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Being prepared for an emergency is important, especially since most out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in the home.

Both the American Red Cross and the AHA offer CPR classes to the general public. Some of these courses can even be done online.

You may never need to use CPR. However, knowing how to do it properly can be important if you ever find yourself in a situation where it is needed.

“Absolutely, take a CPR class. Use your interest in that medical drama to take a CPR class and learn how to do it. Because, in real life, you might save somebody’s life,” noted Brumberg.