Looking into the heart of the problem of refractory cardiac arrest

The predominant cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) is cardiac [1,2], with coronary artery disease (CAD) being the leading underlying triggering factor [3 –5]. In 1997, Spaulding's pioneer research on post-resuscitation coronary angiography (CAG) revealed that approximately 90% of patients with OHCA who exhibit ST-segment elevation after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) have an acute coronary occlusion [3]. However, the likelihood of acu te coronary artery occlusion is highly variable across patients with OHCA [6].
Source: Resuscitation - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research