A new study says you could be the best chance a heart attack victim has of survival. Paramedics use methods like CPR and defibrillators to revive heart attack victims. Now the New England Journal of Medicine says bystanders who do the same save just as many lives as paramedics.

Paramedics use defibrillators jump start your heart, but they've been so effective at saving lives before paramedics can get there, they're starting to show up in many public places.

With step by step audio instructions, the portable defibrillator machine makes it easy for bystanders to quickly help a heart attack victim before help arrives. Public places like the Lake Shawnee golf course have caught on to the trend.

"If there's an emergency on the golf course, we are a 250-acre facility and we can usually get there faster than the EMT's," says golf course Director Steve Jablonowski.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, when bystanders use CPR or portable defibrillators 23% survive versus 14% when nothing is done before paramedics arrive. Of those saved by CPR or portable defibrillators, 78% maintain excellent brain function compared to 68% of those saved by paramedics alone.

It's still important to use CPR if you do not have a defibrillator on hand.
The local Red Cross gives training classes on both.