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 […]

---

September 11th, 2014

Is This Trial Ethical?

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Does the need for a new placebo-controlled trial of epinephrine in cardiac arrest justify questionable consent procedures?

---

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.

---

September 6th, 2012

Resuscitating Resuscitation

Brahmajee Kartik Nallamothu, MD, MPH and Zachary Goldberger, MD, MS

Lancet authors Brahmajee Nallamothu and Zarchary Goldberger join CardioExchange to answer questions about their provocative study indicating a correlation between prolonged resuscitation efforts and survival.

---

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 […]

---

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 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 […]

---

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 […]

---

July 29th, 2010

CPR Studies: More Emphasis on Chest Compressions

Larry Husten, PHD

Two new studies of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) published in the New England Journal of Medicine provide strong support for recent initiatives that emphasize continuous chest compressions over the current standard of chest compression interrupted by rescue breathing. Rea and colleagues studied 1941 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who were randomized to receive one of the two […]

---