Hopefully, you know I am referring to cardiopumonary resuscitation (CPR).   I have kept a mask to use for CPR in my car since medical school for exactly this task. There has been interest in whether CPR using chest compressions alone is comparable to outcomes of compressions plus rescue breathing.  Here is the newest answer. . .

There was a study published in New England Journal of Medicine with 1,941 patients which showed that there was no difference in survival to hospital discharge in those given rescue breaths in addition to compressions.  There was also no significant difference in having a “favorable neurologic status” (good brain functioning) with the addition of rescue breathing.   And, to go further, there was a better outcome in those receiving only chest compressions in those patients who had a cardiac cause of their cardiac arrest (instead of  choking or aneurysm rupture, etc).

So, if you are a bystander and see someone down, please do CPR.  It may save their life, a life with “favorable neurologic status.”   Consider taking CPR training.  The Red Cross offers classes nationwide.

Hope this helps.