Cardiac Arrest (Canada)
About this PSP
The Cardiac Arrest PSP (Canada) was established in 2018 to identify unanswered questions regarding the pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-discharge care (both clinical and psycho-social) of adult survivors of sudden cardiac arrest.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a significant cause of death worldwide and in Canada approximately 40,000 occur each year. Whilst past research efforts have nearly doubled survival rates for OHCA victims, the current average rate remains very low at approximately 10%.
The Cardiac Arrest PSP Top 10 was published in July 2021.
Impact of Top 10s
Top 10 priorities
- What are the most effective mechanisms for improving the rate of lay responder/bystander CPR?
- What interventions at the scene of a cardiac arrest (ie. longer time before transport, advanced life support crews, mechanical CPR, ) improve resuscitation and survival outcomes?
- How do we improve response times and survival from cardiac arrest in rural areas in Canada?
- What resuscitation medications (ie. epinephrine, antiarrhythmics, bicarbonates, TXA, esmolol, ) are the most effective in improving resuscitation and survival outcomes after cardiac arrest?
- What care do patients’ family members need during and after their loved one has a cardiac arrest?
- What should post-discharge care include for cardiac arrest survivors, what is the role of rehabilitation and how can recovery be best supported post cardiac arrest?
- How can we communicate back to everyone involved in the resuscitation (ie. survivor, family, paramedics, ED staff) after a cardiac arrest?
- What factors best predict neurologically intact survival following sudden cardiac arrest in adults?
- Are their biomarkers or genetic tests that are effective for predicting sudden cardiac arrest?
- What are the psycho-social impacts of survivorship on quality of life, both short and long-term and how are they addressed? (relationships, finances, functioning, employment, etc.)
The following questions were also discussed and put in order of priority at the final workshop
- What are the most effective ways to educate people on CPR and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use?
- What are the long-term behavioural or cognitive outcomes for survivors of cardiac arrest?
- Do patients/families have a realistic idea of likely outcomes after cardiac arrest?
- What are the most common things we do that result in the worst patient outcomes after cardiac arrest?
- What resources do cardiac arrest survivors need to achieve best possible health status?
- Which risk factors best predict sudden cardiac arrest?
- How many people are organ donors and how can we optimize organ donation following cardiac arrest?
- What are the risk factors for, and rate of, re-arrest?
- What do we know about Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders/wishes including how it is registered, communicated and implemented in cardiac arrest cases?
- How many cardiac arrest survivors would want to be resuscitated again?