A national strategy will be published next year in a bid to reduce the number of Scots who die after suffering a heart attack outside of hospital.
Public health minister Michael Matheson said the Scottish Government will launch a new action plan in the spring of 2015.
He said surviving a heart attack out of hospital - where help may not be immediately available - depended on a number of factors such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) being performed early, receiving early defibrillation treatment, and effective resuscitation prior to going to hospital, as well as excellent hospital care.
Mr Matheson, who was speaking on European Restart a Heart Day, said the Scottish Government is "determined to increase the number of people who survive a cardiac arrest".
He praised a variety of initiatives that aim to increase survival rates among heart attack sufferers, including the decision by the Scottish Ambulance Service to extend its pioneering Resuscitation Rapid Response Unit (3RU) initiative, which was developed in Edinburgh, to Glasgow.
The British Heart Foundation launched a new campaign today aimed at increasing the number of people, particularly children and young adults, who know about cardiac resuscitation. In addition, the NHS Borders has handed over 50 defibrillators to a charity which will distribute them in the community.
Mr Matheson said: "We know that survival from an out of hospital cardiac arrest depends on the 'chain of survival' - rapid recognition of the cardiac arrest, early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), early defibrillation, effective pre-hospital resuscitation and excellent hospital care. We also know that the most important thing is to ensure that all parts of this chain are working well and working together.
"There is some fantastic work already being done around Scotland by all kinds of different organisations. The Scottish Ambulance Service announced yesterday that they are extending the 3RU initiative to Glasgow. British Heart Foundation have launched today their excellent Nation of Lifesavers campaign to equip more people with CPR skills. I am also delighted to hear today that NHS Borders are working with a local charity to increase the distribution.
"We need to harness this energy and build on these initiatives to ensure that Scotland is doing all we can to ensure that many more people who suffer a cardiac arrest survive to walk out of hospital.
"Next year the Scottish Government will launch a national strategy to tackle out of hospital cardiac arrest. We will look closely at what can be done to improve outcomes from cardiac arrest and set out how the Scottish Government and other public bodies can contribute this goal."
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