Bystanders are less likely to give a collapsed woman on the street CPR compared to men, a study has revealed, and it could be because strangers are more hesitant to touch females than males.
When it came to people helping stricken victims with CPR, researchers found several differences between the sexes after they had dug into the records of 39,000 patients who had suffered cardiac arrests outside hospitals.
The study, presented at an international emergency medicine congress in Spain, revealed women experiencing a cardiac arrest are less likely to get the CPR they need compared to men, especially if the emergency happens in public.
"We don't know why this is the case," Dr Alexis Cournoyer said.
"It could be that people are worried about hurting or touching women, or that they think a woman is less likely to be having a cardiac arrest.
"We wondered if this imbalance would be even worse in younger women, because bystanders may worry even more about physical contact without consent, but this was not the case."
The study of US and Canadian health records looked at whether or not a bystander performed CPR, where the emergency took place, and the age and gender of patients.
Only around half of patients, or 54 per cent, received CPR from a bystander, researchers found.
Overall women were slightly less likely to be given CPR, at 52 per cent compared to 55 per cent of men.
However, when researchers looked only at cardiac arrests occurring in a public place, such as the street, the difference was greater.
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38In those situations, 61 per cent of women were given CPR against 68 per cent of men.
The lower rates of CPR in public were found in women regardless of their age.
There were also variances in CPR rates based on age.
With heart attacks in a private setting, such as a home, the data indicated that with every ten-year increase in age, men were around 9 per cent less likely to be given CPR.
For women having a cardiac arrest in a private setting the chances of receiving CPR were around 3 per cent lower with every ten-year increase in age.
The researchers said everyone should know how to perform life-saving CPR.
They also urged people to provide help without hesitation to anyone who needs it, regardless of gender, age or location.
If you need emergency medical assistance call Triple Zero immediately. The number 000 connects you to Police, Fire or Ambulance services.
