it's still called "resuscitation" when someone does chest compressions to get someone else breathing again, you know. but we'll all have to replace the kiss of life fantasy with the new fantasy of pumping a beautiful stranger's chest/ having a beautiful stranger pump your chest. ok, it's not as poetic, i'll give you that, but feels could be copped, nonetheless.

It's worth pointing out that while this is a better option than no resuscitation at all, the standards still call for breaths - but less breaths than they used to. The research done on compression-only cpr is quite good, but it's not common practice yet.

The difference in survivability is likely a function of how fast a single person can switch from compressions to breaths and back again. A pro can get it close to what it needs to be, the average Joe can't.

The issue of people refusing to do cpr because of the transmissible disease problem is quite large as well. Personally, I keep a mask in my car for this so that I don't have to waste time thinking about it if someone needs help. The little disposable masks fold up into something the size of a condom, perfectly easy to stick one in a purse or backpack. I wish more people would get cpr and first aid training - the idea of standing by and not knowing what to do just terrifies me.

The "beautiful stranger" fantasy doesn't work for people who've actually performed or watched CPR. It's not pretty, and it doesn't resemble kissing much. There's often vomit involved. If you woke up to find Ms. or Mr. Sexy giving you mouth-to-mouth, you'd most likely be more ashamed than turned on.

I agree FNARF, but either beats being dead!

Sounds to me like more of our burgeoning litigious risk-averse nanny-state culture running wild and dictating that the perfect must be the enemy of the good.

Not that I have an opinion or anything...

PS - If I'm bleeding out from a wound to my femoral artery, pretty please put that tourniquet (another time-proven low-tech lifesaving technology) on me, even if I might have to lose the leg afterward.