New guidelines for emergency medical technicians on when to cease resuscitation of heart attack victims could spare many families added grief and expense, according to a recent New England Journal of Medicine report. The new guidelines would not apply to EMTs with advanced life-saving training or to paramedics.

Two-thirds of all cardiac arrest victims die on the scene, but are usually transported to the hospital in an effort to save them anyway. Only one in 500 patients survived a heart attack once taken to the hospital for resuscitation, reports statistics from the University of Toronto. New guidelines would decrease the amount of patients transported to emergency rooms by EMTs from 100 percent to 37.4 percent.

One theory is that families of victims would experience more emotional closure if an unsuccessful resuscitation was fully observed -- confidant that everything that could be done was done -- and that they would be saved the distress of an agonizing half-hour in a hospital waiting room wondering if the patient would survive.