Hirschauer Bill Aims to Lower Female CPR Mortality Outcomes

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. – Aiming to spread awareness and improve health outcomes for women who are in cardiac arrest and require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-West Chicago, is leading a bill that would require secondary schools to utilize a female manikin or chest cover during CPR training. 

“According to a recent study, women are 14–25% less likely than men to receive bystander CPR in public, leading to poorer survival after cardiac arrest. This gender gap is largely driven by bystander hesitation stemming from fears of inappropriate touching, sexual assault accusations, or injuring a woman’s chest. We can address this discrepancy by expanding training requirements to cater to both male and female anatomy, which differ significantly in the chest area, due to estrogen and blood vessel function,” said Hirschauer. 

Studies show that women who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) have a 30-day survival rate at 6.2%, compared to 10.7% for men. Some experts believe that factors like social norms about touching or exposing a woman’s chest, biases in medical training, and the under-recognition of heart disease in women explain the differences in survival rates between sexes during cardiac arrest.

This policy change is spearheaded by Naperville Central High School senior, Ashlynn Goldstein. In her duties as a lifeguard, Ashlynn has taken several hours of CPR training, and has noticed a gender bias. 

“I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve taken a CPR class, but I can count the number of female manikins I’ve seen in my life: 0,” said Goldstein. “High schoolers need to be prepared to face anything in the world. My hope for them is to experience what I never did. I hope they can support women in need with less fear than before.”

Hirschauer’s House Bill 4788 seeks to close this gap in care by requiring both male and female manikins to be available during CPR training. The requirement, which would go into effect during the 2028-2029 school year, would apply to all Illinois public and private high schools due to state law that mandates CPR/AED training for all students prior to graduation.

“A measure like this deserves awareness, and I am grateful to Ashlynn Goldstein for bringing this to our attention. I’ve heard firsthand stories of women going into cardiac arrest, only to be unable to recover because a CPR administrator was uncomfortable or unable to forcefully provide CPR compressions to a feminine chest. It’s a disturbing occurrence and a significant barrier to fully understanding women’s health. My hope is that we get this bill through the finish line so that women who experience a cardiac scare have a better chance to live.”