People who experience cardiac arrests during weekends have fewer chances of survival, compared to those who undergo the same medical emergency over weekdays, claims a study.

The preliminary research was presented at the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium 2019 in Philadelphia. UK researchers investigated "survival-to-hospital admission" for patients who suffered an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest and were treated by a publicly accessible automated external defibrillator (AED). They analysed data of nearly 3,000 patients worldwide and noted that 27 per cent survived to hospital admission, in line with other independent studies.

Overall, researchers found that patients who suffered a cardiac arrest between 12 a.m. Saturday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday were about 20 per cent less likely to survive than those patients who suffered a cardiac arrest between Monday and Friday.

Survival also decreased for cardiac arrests occurring at home and as the patient's age increased. "It is often said that sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. These results suggest that there is an opportunity to address sudden cardiac arrests that occur during the weekend by improving AED awareness, availability and training and quick response by rescuers," said Hannah Torney, the study's lead author, studying for Ph.D. at Ulster University in Northern Ireland.