NEW YORK -- Health officials said that people can skip the mouth-to-mouth breathing and just do chest compressions to save a life.

The American Heart Association is promoting a major change in dealing with sudden cardiac arrest in adults. It said that hands-only CPR, also called CCR, works just as well as standard CPR in those cases, WISC-TV reported.

They said people should use rapid, deep presses on the victim's chest until help arrives.

Experts said that they hope bystanders will now be more willing to jump in and help if they see someone suddenly collapse.

Hands-only CPR is simpler and easier to remember. It also removes a big barrier for people skittish about administering mouth-to-mouth to strangers.

Mouth-to-mouth breathing should still be used on children, since a child who collapses is more likely to have breathing problems.

Last January, Madison emergency responders changed their cardiac protocol to CCR.