Controversies in Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest?

Cardiac arrest is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and accounts for nearly 500,000 deaths annually in the United States. In patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, survival is less than 15%, with considerable regional variation. Although most deaths occur during the initial resuscitation, an increasing proportion occur in patients hospitalized after initially successful resuscitation. In these patients, the significant subsequent morbidity and mortality is due to “post cardiac arrest syndrome.” Until recently, most single interventions have yielded little improvement in rates of survival; however, there is growing recognition that optimal treatment strategies during the postresuscitation phase may improve outcomes.