Cardiac Arrest News and Research

Latest Cardiac Arrest News and Research

Chest compressions alone CPR simplifies saving lives for bystanders

Chest compressions alone, or Hands-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), can save lives and can be used to help an adult who suddenly collapses, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement.

1 Apr 2008

Calls for CPR guidelines to be changed

The results of new research has thrown into question cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques which have for decades been deemed best practice in Australia.

31 Mar 2008

New resuscitation approach for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest associated with increased survival

Patients who had cardiac arrests outside of the hospital setting and were treated with a resuscitation approach designed to limit interruption of chest compressions, termed minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation (MICR), were more likely to survive than those patients who received standard treatments, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Mar 2008

Survival after cardiac arrest increases three-fold with new resuscitation protocol

A new paramedic resuscitation method called Cardiocerebral Resuscitation has resulted in a three-fold increase in the survival rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The results are published in the March 12 issue of one the world's foremost medical journals, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

11 Mar 2008

In-hospital heart attacks during the night or weekends may lower survival rate

Patients who have an in-hospital cardiac arrest at night or on the weekend have a substantially lower rate of survival to discharge than hospitalized patients who experience a cardiac arrest during day/evening times on weekdays, according to a study in the February 20 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Feb 2008

Victims less likely to survive a heart attack in hospital on the weekend

A new study has made some worrying revelations about people who have heart attacks.

20 Feb 2008

Reducing barriers for implementation of bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation

A unified effort by the public, educators and policymakers is needed to reduce deaths from sudden cardiac arrest by increasing the use and effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), according to a new statement from the American Heart Association.

16 Jan 2008

Bystander CPR - new efforts to improve quality

Benjamin S. Abella, MD, MPhil, Clinical Research Director of Penn's Center for Resuscitation Science and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, says bystanders can play a critical role in saving lives by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation during the 150,000 cardiac arrests that occur each year outside of hospitals in the United States.

15 Jan 2008

Methadone and rare ventricular arrhythmia link

Methadone is a possible cause of sudden cardiac death even when it isn't overdosed but is taken at therapeutic levels primarily for relief of chronic pain or drug addiction withdrawal, a new study by Oregon Health & Science University researchers suggests.

10 Jan 2008

Chances of surviving a heart attack better in an airport or casino than in a U.S. hospital

According to the latest research from the United States you have a better chance of surviving a heart attack if you have it in an airport or a casino, rather than a hospital.

7 Jan 2008

For hospital patients, defibrillation delays mean lower survival

An estimated 750,000 hospitalized patients experience cardiac arrest and undergo CPR annually, and less than 30 percent of those leave the hospital alive.

3 Jan 2008

Doctors trained on patient simulators exhibit superior skills

Senior internal medicine residents who are trained in critical resuscitation skills on patient simulators become more skilled than residents who undergo traditional training, according to new research.

10 Dec 2007

Simple two-in-one test signals high risk after a heart attack

Everyone loves a two-fer, but a two-in-one heart test that has the potential to save lives is the real deal.

4 Dec 2007

Merck Serono's Cyanokit approved in Europe

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for its product Cyanokit (active substance: hydroxocobalamin) for the treatment of known or suspected cyanide poisoning in both adults and the pediatric population.

3 Dec 2007

The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes

If hospitals added one more full-time registered nurse on staff to care for patients, the number of hospital-related deaths in the United States could decrease significantly, according to a new review.

27 Nov 2007

Rapid response teams in children's hospitals reduce risk of death, cardiac arrests

A children's hospital that added a rapid response medical team for patients not in the intensive care unit saw an 18 percent decrease in the death rate, and about a 70 percent decline in the rate of cardiac and respiratory arrests, according to a study in the November 21 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

21 Nov 2007

U.S. doctor charged with manslaughter of autistic boy by botched chelation therapy

The doctor, Dr. Roy Kerry of Portersville, Butler County, has been charged with manslaughter after incorrectly administering a controversial chemical treatment.

19 Nov 2007

CPR guidelines double hospital discharge rates

A new seven-city study on the impact of new CPR techniques supports the widespread use of the American Heart Association's new 2005 CPR guidelines, according to the study authors in a presentation at the AHA's Scientific Sessions November 4 in Orlando.

6 Nov 2007

Lives are saved when defibrillators are placed in public spaces

Heart experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have evidence that at least 522 lives can be saved annually in the United States and Canada by the widespread placement of automated external defibrillators, the paddle-fitted, electrical devices used to shock and revive people whose hearts have suddenly stopped beating.

6 Nov 2007

Token resuscitation attempts on hopelessly ill patients prolong suffering

Resuscitating hopelessly ill patients too slowly to save their lives can be an invasive and undignified procedure that prolongs death and suffering, according to the November issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

2 Nov 2007