Dr. Morrison said the low rate may reflect the fact that students need four hours of instruction to be certified in CPR and teachers have to take an annual three-day course to keep up their certification. Schools must pay for both the course and supply teachers to replace them.

But Dr. Morrison said scientific studies show students don't have to be certified in CPR to save lives.

"You want people to respond to someone when they go down and start chest compressions and you can learn that in 22 minutes," she said. "You also want them to have the courage to reach up and grab the AED off the wall."

Rescue is part of the Rescue Outcomes Consortium, a large, multinational research collaboration of 10 sites across the United States and Canada, studying how promising new tools and treatments can improve survival rates among people who suffer cardiac arrest or life-threatening traumatic injury.

Source: St. Michael's Hospital