CPR success rates of 30% are, IIRC, in-hospital only. Closer to 5-10% traditionally in the street. Highly dependent on time to CPR and first shock. Some of the "push only" CPR rates look better, but time will tell.
The 30% figure is in my head from a project in Seattle in the early 80's where there was a push to qualify everyone in basic CPR - undoubtedly that represents a very best case scenario.
On the other hand,my CERT trainer, a very experienced fire captain, stated that he witnessed about 300 cases where CPR was administered; in his opinion, only about seven were successful; i.e., the patient walked out of the hospital after treatment. That is probably more realistic.
Current CERT training for a mass casualty situation is to dispense with CPR - more lives will be saved if the effort is devoted to other victims. But that is a different situation from the more normal situation where help is available.
Elapsed time does seem to be critical in achieving a good outcome, which is why CPR training is desirable and recommended
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