Document Detail


The causative rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests witnessed by the emergency medical services in the Heartstart Scotland Project.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  8191028     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Out-of-hospital defibrillation has been shown to improve survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The maximum performance of defibrillation-based systems is dependent on the proportion of cardiac arrests due to tachyarrhythmias. We reviewed 4248 reported arrests in the Heartstart Scotland database. We identified 3489 arrests due to cardiac or unknown cause. From this group we selected 258 cases known to be conscious on arrival of the crew. We were able to retrieve electrocardiographic data on the period within 2 min of the arrest in 106 cases. The first recorded rhythm at the arrest was ventricular fibrillation in 64%, ventricular tachycardia 4%, bradycardia in 28% and electromechanical dissociation in 4%. Defibrillatory shocks were delivered to 96% of patients in ventricular fibrillation and 60% of these patients survived. None of the patients with bradycardic arrests survived. Preceding chest pain was noted in 79% of patients subsequently developing ventricular fibrillation as the cause of arrest compared to only 37% of those suffering bradycardic arrests. It would appear that public awareness of the importance of early contact with the emergency services after the onset of chest pain could substantially improve the survival from out-of-hospital arrests.
Authors:
M L Sedgwick; K Dalziel; J Watson; D J Carrington; S M Cobbe
Related Documents :
8923578 - Prognosis among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest judged as being caused by ...
2000728 - New developments in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
5115008 - Sinus arrest in acute myocardial infarction.
20216308 - Postresuscitation care: entering a new era.
7494388 - Antiarrhythmic effects of bisaramil on triggered arrhythmias produced by intracoronary ...
23252008 - Clinical features and prognosis in chinese patients with acute fulminant myocarditis.
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Resuscitation     Volume:  27     ISSN:  0300-9572     ISO Abbreviation:  Resuscitation     Publication Date:  1994 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1994-06-21     Completed Date:  1994-06-21     Revised Date:  2009-08-25    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0332173     Medline TA:  Resuscitation     Country:  IRELAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  55-9     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Cardiology, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aged
Bradycardia / complications*
Chest Pain / etiology
Electric Countershock
Electrocardiography
Emergencies
Emergency Medical Services*
Heart Arrest / etiology*,  mortality,  physiopathology,  therapy
Humans
Monitoring, Physiologic
Scotland / epidemiology
Survival Analysis
Tachycardia / complications*,  physiopathology,  therapy

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Prognostic markers in patients with severe accidental hypothermia and cardiocirculatory arrest.
Next Document:  Establishing a resuscitation model in rabbits with closed-thoracic cardiopulmonary by-pass.