A thousand lives could be saved over the next five years by training more people how to help cardiac arrest victims, according to a new action plan.
The Scottish Government, emergency services and charities have come together with the aim of creating a "nation of lifesavers" by equipping half a million people with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills.
About 80% of cardiac arrests happen in the home yet the majority of people (61%) would not feel confident performing CPR on a family member or loved one, according to research by the British Heart Foundation.
National survival rates for cardiac arrests which take place outside of hospital are low in Scotland compared to the European average, at about only one in 20.
The strategy aims to increase survival rates by 10% by 2020 through an information and education campaign to boost the number of people able to respond confidently when faced with a person in cardiac arrest.
It also sets out to tackle inequalities in survival for those in deprived areas, where the prevalence of cardiac arrests increases but the likelihood of receiving CPR from a bystander decreases.
Funding of £100,000 has been announced to help achieve the strategy's aims, which include increasing public awareness of and access to defibrillators.
Launching the plan, public health minister Maureen Watt said: "The best way to ensure that more people survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is to increase the number of people who have CPR skills and, crucially, to make sure they are confident enough to attempt resuscitation if the need arises.
"If we succeed in our aims, there will be 1,000 lives saved by 2020. That is an ambitious target but it is one that we believe is achievable and well worth aiming for."
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Scotland has already embraced the concept of creating a nation of lifesavers and we're now supporting around three-quarters of secondary schools in teaching their pupils vital CPR skills.
"This is a real commitment to ensuring Scotland leads the way in creating a nation of lifesavers and improving outcomes for people who suffer a cardiac arrest."
The strategy also aims to ensure that patients are given appropriate post-cardiac arrest care and that better support is provided to survivors, their families and any bystanders impacted by a cardiac arrest.
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