CardioExchange Archive

January 26th, 2012

NHLBI Launches Two Large Cardiac Arrest Treatment Trials

Larry Husten, PHD

The NHLBI today announced the launch of two large clinical trials evaluating treatments for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The Continuous Chest Compressions (CCC) trial will randomize 23,600 people with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest to either standard CPR or continuous chest compressions, both delivered by paramedics or fire fighters. In recent years, studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine,  JAMA, and the Lancet have provided evidence […]

---

January 12th, 2012

The Safety of the Long Distance Runner

Larry Husten, PHD

Long distance runners may be lonely but they are not at high risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The RACER (Race Associated Cardiac Arrest Event Registry) investigators analyzed data from 10.9 million registered participants in marathons and half-marathons that took place in the U.S. during the first decade of this century. […]

---

August 31st, 2011

New Resuscitation Strategies Fail to Improve Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest

Larry Husten, PHD

Two trials from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) investigators were unable to demonstrate meaningful improvements to resuscitation strategies after cardiac arrest. The two trials, one testing an impedance threshold device and the other examining a strategy of early versus late rhythm analysis, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the first trial, 8718 patients were randomized to […]

---

July 13th, 2011

Therapeutic Hypothermia Network Provides Benefit to Cardiac Arrest Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Previous studies have shown that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves outcomes in patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In a new paper published in Circulation, Michael Mooney and colleagues report on their experience with 140 OHCA patients in Minnesota who received treatment within a regional network of care that transfers OHCA patients to a […]

---

January 27th, 2011

Shockable Arrhythmias Less Frequent in the Home

Larry Husten, PHD

Cardiac arrest with a shockable arrhythmia (VF or pulseless VT) is less likely to occur at home than in public, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Myron Weisfeldt and investigators from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) Investigators evaluated nearly 13,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and found that shockable arrhythmias occurred more […]

---

August 27th, 2010

Compression-Only CPR: It May Help Bystanders Breathe Easier

Mark Steven Link, MD

A recent randomized, controlled study in the NEJM showed that patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who received compression-only CPR or traditional CPR had similar 30-day survival rates. CardioExchange asks Dr. Mark Link, a cardiac electrophysiologist and member of the American Heart Association Advanced Cardiac Life Support Committee, to answer our questions about compression-only vs. traditional CPR. […]

---