TV varies dramatically in informing viewers about medical emergencies, but it also teaches audiences how not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). As part of a new study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, researchers found that existing portrayals of CPR across scripted television in the U.S. depict many outdated practices. These practices could mislead viewers when confronted with an actual cardiac arrest and cause them to delay responding with the lifesaving action they would have otherwise taken. This research, which appears in the journal Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes, is the first to comprehensively assess how bystander CPR is portrayed in scripted television programming in the U.S. It was conducted by assistant professor Beth L. Hoffman, Ph.D., MPH, of the Pitt School of Public Health, and recent Pitt graduate Ore Fawole, B.S., B.A., who was the lead author on the research. This study arrives almost 20 years after the American Heart Association issued its first public guidance regarding CPR. The association’s recommended approach …