Would you know what to do if someone suddenly collapsed in front of you? As NY1 Health & Fitness reporter Kafi Drexel explains in the following report, new simplified CPR guidelines released Monday may help more bystanders save lives without having to shout for "a doctor in the house" first.

We've all seen the educational videos, and most of us know what CPR is. But in the case of a serious emergency many potential bystanders say they're still not sure they could do it.

“I'd probably pick up my phone and call 911. I don't know if I could necessarily give mouth-to-mouth or do any other kind of CPR,” says one New Yorker, when asked what she would do in the event of a medical emergency.

“I feel like you never know if that's the right thing to do. If that's not their problem maybe that could make it worse,” adds another.

In fact, according to the American Heart Association, so few people are comfortable with CPR that less than 30 percent of cardiac arrest victims receive it in non-medical settings. To eliminate those barriers, the Heart Association is now advocating a hands-only approach to CPR when an adult collapses from cardiac arrest, to simplify things for the lay public.

“If we just do chest compressions, keep it simple, hands only, push hard, push fast, we don't have to worry about doing mouth to mouth breathing, so we can eliminate the fear of any type of a disease contamination,” says Sarah Gillen of the American Heart Association. “Additionally, you don't have to be concerned, Îdo I remember the ratio of compressions to ventilation. Am I following the correct steps? The only steps to remember: Call 911 and hands-only CPR.”

Unlike conventional CPR, which required a combination of mouth-to-mouth breaths and chest compressions, the hands-only approach is simple. Just place the heels of your two hand on the center of a person's chest and push rapidly.

Nearly 94 percent of cardiac arrest victims die before getting to a hospital. The Heart Association says effective CPR given immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple chances of survival.

The Heart Association cautions that conventional CPR, using a combination of breaths and compressions is still important to learn though. That's because hands-only can't be used for infants or children. It also can't be used for adults whose cardiac arrest is from respiratory causes like a drug overdose or drowning.

But the bottom line now: If adult suddenly collapses in front of you and it is not the result of a drug overdose or drowning, the Heart Association wants you to keep two things in mind: push hard, and push fast, because in an emergency hands-on is far better than hands-off.

To learn more about this, or CPR courses you can take at home go to americanheart.org/handsonlycpr.

— Kafi Drexel