This study is a retrospective review of all CPR attempts at the VA Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, during a two-year period (January 1, 1988, through December 31, 1989).  The authors report that 44 percent of patients survived initial CPR, but only 30 percent were alive 24 hours later and only 13 percent were alive one month later.  Patients with witnessed arrests were more likely to survive initial CPR (57 percent) than patients with unwitnessed arrests (22 percent).