Latest Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Statistics Heighten the Need for the Public to Learn CPR and AED Skills

• With the increase in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest cases revealed by the latest statistics of 2022, it is more imperative than ever that more Singaporeans step forward to learn CPR and AED skills.
• The newly launched MEDICS research study driven by Duke-NUS Medical School and partially funded by the Singapore Heart Foundation seeks to discover the user behaviour and experience of a pocket-sized AED, which allows community first responders to save lives on the go.
• The Singapore Heart Foundation will intensify the empowerment of youths with CPR and AED skills in the years to come to grow Singapore’s pool of community first responders.

Singapore, 4 July 2026 – For the first time, the Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF) has organised a youth-themed life-saving event titled “Youths Got Power: Empowering Young Life-Savers“, with the objective of encouraging youths in Singapore — secondary schools to institutions of higher learning — to take up CPR and AED skills.

Held this morning at the Fernvale Community Club, the event was especially meaningful as it took place on the eve of Youth Day. Supported by the People’s Association, the event was graced by Mr Ng Chee Meng, Member of Parliament and Adviser to the Jalan Kayu SMC Grassroots Organisations, and youths from the uniformed groups of secondary schools and students from institutions of higher learning were among the attendees.

Youths are the New Blood of Community First Responders

Youths are the new blood of our nation’s pool of community first responders and SHF believes that they have an important role to play in building a heart safe nation.

Mr Ng Chee Meng, Member of Parliament and Adviser to the Jalan Kayu SMC Grassroots Organisations opined: “With Singapore now a super-aged society, it has become increasingly important for more within our community to be equipped with CPR and AED skills. This will help safeguard the lives of those around us whom we cherish and prepare us for any cardiac emergency that may occur outside healthcare setting. Youths can play an active and significant role in this!”

Starting young, the shared community responsibility of saving lives will grow on these young life-savers as they enter adulthood. In addition, these youths will be able to contribute to the cardiac emergency preparedness of our nation for many years to come and potentially be able to influence their peers to become life-savers along the way.

New OHCA Statistics Underscore the Urgency for All to Learn Life-Saving Skills

At the event, Prof Marcus Ong Eng Hock, Director, Prehospital and Emergency Research Center (PERC), Duke-NUS Medical School also released the latest Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) statistics for Singapore, showing an uptrend from 3,637 in 2021 to 4,058 in 2022.

“A major contributor to the increase in OHCA cases is an ageing population in Singapore. 80% of OHCA happen at home and family members are often the first responders. It is critical that more people step forward to learn CPR and AED skills to safeguard lives — at home and beyond. Youths within our community should play an active role in this.” said Prof Ong, who is Senior Consultant and Distinguished Senior Clinician at the Singapore General Hospital’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

An encouraging observation, however, is that bystander CPR rates have improved tremendously from 22% in 2011 to 62% in 2022. Correspondingly, more bystanders were also willing and able to perform CPR on cardiac arrest victims, registering an increase from 302 to 2,515 bystanders providing CPR in the years 2011 and 2022, respectively.

Teenage Community First Responders Share Their Inspirational Journeys

A highlight of the event was a fireside chat with teenage community first responders, including 15-year-old Joshua Hiew, who has learned CPR and AED skills with the Singapore Heart Foundation in 2024 and has since responded to more than 50 cardiac emergencies on the myResponder app. Recently, he has also been certified as a Basic Cardiac Life Support and AED instructor.

Joshua shared: “I have a bike that I use when responding to cardiac emergencies, equipped with life-saving tools and strobe lights to alert the pedestrians to give way. I don’t want to watch and do nothing; I want to also play a part in saving lives. No matter your age, I believe that everyone can make a difference in our community by stepping up to save a life!”

For his public-spiritedness, Joshua has been conferred three awards by the Singapore Civil Defence Force in 2025 and 2026.

Launch of the MEDICS Research Study Involving Portable AEDs

Taking the opportunity, Duke-NUS Medical School also announced the launch of a two-year joint research study known as “Mobile External Defibrillation Investigation for Cardiac Arrest in Singapore”, or “MEDICS” for short.

Funded by SHF and Singapore Pools, the study aims to discover the carry practices and user experience of a new pocket-sized AED weighing just 700g, with dimensions of only 15cm by 8.6cm by 5.3 cm, which can deliver up to 150j of electricity to resuscitate a cardiac arrest victim.

The research study aims to enlist 1,000 active community first responders aged 21 and above, who are registered on the myResponder app.

“The Singapore Heart Foundation has always been committed to supporting community-based research to better understand the landscape of heart disease in Singapore, and we are proud to be part of this meaningful research study, driven by Duke-NUS Medical School. Today, as we encourage more youths to step forward to learn CPR and AED skills, we also hope that some of these youths who qualify for the study can contribute to this research study. We are upscaling our CPR and AED training and making it more engaging and accessible to young responders through schools and community partnerships, so that the youths of today can become our nation’s life-savers of tomorrow,” said Geoffrey Ong, Chief Executive Officer, SHF.

Singapore Heart Foundation to Target Youths for CPR and AED Skills Training

SHF remains committed to empowering more Singaporeans with CPR and AED skills to foster a more heart safe nation where everyone can swiftly, confidently and effectively respond to a cardiac emergency. Against this backdrop, youths will be a key focus as they will be Singapore’s new generation of community first responders and those who can inspire other young people to step up like them.

To find out more and sign up for a CPR and AED course, visit www.myheart.org.sg/techniques/take-a-course/.