Movies Fail to Portray CPR, Cardiac Arrest Accurately, Study Shows

Contemporary films portray cardiac arrest in a misleading fashion, according to authors of a study presented at ACC.25.

“As media plays a significant role in shaping public perception of health, film depictions of these life-saving measures may be important for informing public understanding of cardiac arrest and bystander action,” the investigators noted. They sought to analyze the portrayal of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and CPR in popular film.

Researchers used the film site IMDb to assess popular films released between 2008 and 2024. They focused on analyzing film scenes for the causes of cardiac arrest and victim demographics including age, sex, and race. They noted that CPR was evaluated based on adherence to American Heart Association recommendations for rescue position, hand placement, compression rate and depth, and survival. Overall, the analysis consisted of 33 movies.

The findings showed that individuals experiencing cardiac arrest in movies were typically younger than 40 years (52%) and mostly White (91%), and more than half were men (64%). The researchers stated of the findings: “CPR is often not depicted correctly. Victim survival is significantly higher than published literature and often portrays victims without follow-up medical evaluation. This misrepresentation is in stark contrast to the reality of OHCA, which carries high mortality of >90%. These inaccurate portrayals in film may skew public understanding of cardiac arrest and CPR and undermine the importance of proper emergency response.”

Harris J et al. Representation of CPR and cardiac arrest in popular films between 2008-2024: a missed opportunity for public education. Presented at: ACC25; March 29-31, 2025; Chicago, IL.