The 2025 updated European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines: overview of the most important changes

The new resuscitation guidelines of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) were published in October 2025. The aim of the guidelines is to sustainably improve the survival rate after cardiac arrest through structured and evidence-based care systems. This year's update brings some important changes and innovations. Highlighting the new recommendations especially in the chapters Adult Advanced Life Support (ALS), Post-Resuscitation Care and Systems Saving Lives - the importance of the first 3-5 minutes after a cardiac arrest has been further strengthened. The most relevant changes include e.g. physicians need to educate lay people in CPR, the dispatch center needs to help identify cardiac arrest and ventilation failure, the intravenous access is superior, the vector change in defibrillation is possible, Point-of-care ultrasound use only by experienced providers and to think about sedation during CPR.