CardioExchange Archive

December 1st, 2014

Study Suggests Epinephrine for Cardiac Arrest May Be Harmful

Larry Husten, PHD

Epinephrine has been a cornerstone of therapy during cardiac resuscitation after cardiac arrest because of its well-established ability to stimulate the heart and increase the probability of a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In recent years, however, concerns have been raised that people treated with epinephrine may have worse neurological outcomes following their resuscitation. In a […]

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January 6th, 2014

A Cross-Section of CPR Training in U.S. Counties

Monique Anderson, MD

Monique L. Anderson discusses her research group’s study of CPR training rates in the United States.

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September 9th, 2013

Clear! CPR in the Hospital Is Not Always Good for the Patient

Larry Husten, PHD

On TV it always seems clear and simple. A patient in the hospital goes into cardiac arrest and the medical team springs into action. After a few tense moments of furious activity, and only after all seems lost, the patient is successfully revived. A few scenes later the smiling and now fully healthy patient thanks […]

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July 25th, 2013

Vasopressin-Epinephrine Plus Corticosteroids Improve Neurologic Status After In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest – Implications for Out-of-Hospital Arrest?

Graham Nichol, MD MPH

Graham Nichol takes a close look at a recent randomized trial that examined whether combined vasopressin-epinephrine plus corticosteroids during CPR could improve survival and neurologic status in patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest.

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October 29th, 2012

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: October 29th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include CV risk factors and peripheral artery disease in men, radiofrequency ablation in paroxysmal AF, CPR duration and survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest, an everolimus-eluting stent vs. a bare-metal stent in STEMI, job strain and CHD, and more.

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April 2nd, 2012

Improved Survival After Non-Shockable Cardiac Arrest with New CPR Guidelines

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years, resuscitation guidelines have evolved to emphasize chest compressions. At the same time, a greater proportion of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases are now due to “nonshockable” rhythms, defined as asystole and pulseless electrical activity, but the effect of the new guidelines on these type of OHCA cases is unknown. In a study published in Circulation, Peter […]

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September 12th, 2011

Arrest: When to Check the Rhythm?

Daniela J Lamas, MD

Editor’s Note: The following guest post by Daniela Lamas is reprinted with permission from Now@NEJM, a blog for physicians about NEJM. The woman slumps to the floor beside her office desk… No one sees her go down…  A colleague hears a thud and rushes in….. He calls her name… No response… He checks for a pulse: […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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January 18th, 2011

Study Supports a New Enhanced Form of CPR

Larry Husten, PHD

A study published in the Lancet lends support to a new form of CPR that uses a combination of two devices to provide three times more blood flow to the heart and brain than standard CPR. The first device is a small suction cup on the patient’s chest used to actively lift the chest and […]

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