This monograph is written as a result of the institution and development of the Emergency Medical System Management Program, begun in 1976 in King County, Washington. The purpose of the book is to describe those factors of a successful emergency medical system, or service, that contribute to the successful management of outof-hospital cardiac arrest.
The book is a comprehensive review of the options presented to a community in terms of instituting or upgrading emergency medical services. It is based on the extensive experience of the authors and on their study of the method in which these services are provided to the community.
Although the book is not intended to be about the medical problems of sudden death, ie, risk factors, etiology, etc, it does concisely discuss the characteristics of patients who suffered sudden cardiac death during the study. The book includes two chapters on the history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation