Current Cardiology Reviews - Volume 14, Issue 2, 2018

Out of hospital cardiac arrest affects 350,000 Americans yearly and is associated with a high mortality rate. Improving survival rates in this population rests on the prompt and effective implementation of four key principles. These include 1) early recognition of cardiac arrest 2) early use of chest compressions 3) early defibrillation, which in turn emphasizes the importance of public access defibrillation programs and pote Read More

Background: Cardiac arrest remains a common and lethal condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. Even with improving survival rates, the successfully resuscitated post cardiac arrest patient is also at risk for poor neurological outcomes, functional status and long- term survival if not managed appropriately. Given that acute coronary occlusion has been found to be the leading cause of cardiac arrest, lon Read More

Background: Out of hospital cardiac arrest management of patients with non-ST myocardial infarction per current American Heart Association and European Resuscitation Council guidelines leave the decision in regard to early angiography up to the physician operators. Guidelines are clear on the positive impact of early intervention on survival and improvement on left ventricular function in patients presenting with cardiac arr Read More

Background: Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) remains not an uncommon occurrence in USA and the rest of the world. However, the survival to discharge following an episode of OHCA in adults is still very disappointing at around 10%. Several areas of improvement including education of general public in early Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by bystander, chest compression first, and improvement of Emergency Me Read More

Background: Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) remains a major public health concern, accounting for more than 50% of cardiac deaths. The majority of these deaths are related to ischemic heart disease, however increasingly recognized are non-ischemic causes such as cardiac channelopathies. Bradyarrhythmias and pulseless electrical activity comprise a larger proportion of out-ofhospital arrests than previously realized, particu Read More

Refractory out of hospital cardiac arrest is a common problem that is associated with poor overall survival rates and neurological outcomes. There are various definitions that have been used but the most accepted one is cardiac arrest that requires more than 10 minutes of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) efforts or more than 3 defibrillation attempts. There have been different pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic the Read More

Background: Cardiac arrest in the Catheterization Lab is a rare and unique scenario that is often logistically challenging. It often has dire prognosis especially in patients suffering from severe pre-existing illnesses (high risk patient) such as acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock, or patients undergoing high risk procedures. As the number of complex interventional procedures increases, cardiac arrest in the cath lab Read More

Background: To develop an understanding of current practices in the management of transient secondary hypothyroidism in pediatric postoperative cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) patients. Methods: Electronic survey comprising a 10-item questionnaire was sent to sixty-four high volume pediatric heart centers in the United States and United Kingdom. Survey participants included cardiologists, intensivists, cardiothoracic surgeons, Read More

Background: Congestive heart failure is an increasingly prevalent terminal illness in a globally aging population. Prognosis for this disease remains poor despite optimal therapy. Evidence suggests that a palliative care approach may be beneficial – and is currently recommended – in advanced congestive heart failure but these services remain underutilized. Objectives: To identify the main challenges to the access and delivery o Read More