title: Defibrillation in the movies: a missed opportunity for public health education.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize defibrillation and cardiac arrest survival outcomes in movies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Movies from 2003 to 2012 with defibrillation scenes were reviewed for patient and rescuer characteristics, scene characteristics, defibrillation characteristics, additional interventions, and cardiac arrest survival outcomes. Resuscitation actions were compared with chain of survival actions and the American Heart Association (AHA) Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) 2020 Impact Goals. Cardiac arrest survival outcomes were compared with survival rates reported in the literature and targeted by the AHA ECC 2020 Impact Goals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-five scenes were identified in 32 movies. Twenty-five (71%) patients were male, and 29 (83%) rescuers were male. Intent of defibrillation was resuscitation in 29 (83%) scenes and harm in 6 (17%) scenes. Cardiac arrest was the indication for use in 23 (66%) scenes, and the heart rhythm was made known in 18 scenes (51%). When the heart rhythm was known, defibrillation was appropriately used for ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation in 5 (28%) scenes and inappropriately used for asystole in 7 (39%) scenes. In 8 scenes with in-hospital cardiac arrest, 7 (88%) patients survived, compared to survival rates of 23.9% reported in the literature and 38% targeted by an AHA ECC 2020 Impact Goal. In 12 movie scenes with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, 8 (67%) patients survived, compared to survival rates of 7.9-9.5% reported in peer-reviewed literature and 15.8% targeted by an AHA ECC 2020 Impact Goal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In movies, defibrillation and cardiac arrest survival outcomes are often portrayed inaccurately, representing missed opportunities for public health education.
authors.affiliation: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ofole U
authors.initials: OU
authors.lastname: Mgbako
authors.affiliation: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Yoonhee P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Ranard
authors.affiliation: Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Kendra A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hypolite
authors.affiliation: Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sellers
authors.affiliation: Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Lindsay D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nadkarni
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Lance B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Asch
authors.affiliation: Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: raina.merchant@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Raina M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Merchant
mesh_terms: D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000193:education*; D004554:Electric Countershock; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013690:Television; D014481:United States; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Automated external defibrillator (AED); Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); Defibrillation; Entertainment; Movies; Resuscitation quality