LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The critical care of patients after surviving cardiac arrest is more crucial according to new research. 

A new consensus statement form the American Heart Association Emergency and Cardiovascular Care Committee and the Neurocritical Care Society calls for more research to address areas following a cardiac arrest that have limited research including areas: neurological, cardiac, pulmonary, hematologic, infectious, gastrointestinal, endocrine and general critical care management.

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“This is not just a heart, brain or lung problem, this is a whole-body problem,” said Romergryko G. Geocadin, M.D., professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Chair of the writing committee. “After they resuscitate, many professionals think they’ve done their job, however, there’s much more to do after that moment, and it should be a more cohesive team providing care from there on.”  

The American Heart Association (AHA) defines cardiac arrest as “Cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function in a person who may or may not have been diagnosed with heart disease.” The group also warned that it is often fatal if the appropriate steps are not taken immediately. 

Cardiac arrest affects over 600,000 people in the United States annually, with a worldwide annual incidence of 30 to 97 individuals per 100,000 population according to a report from the American Heart Association. 

Several areas that needed further research were highlights by a panel of researchers include: 

• Neurological management in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) includes future research considerations for the use of advanced seizure monitoring techniques, and the influence of analgesic, sedative and neuromuscular blockade agents.
• Cardiac management in the ICU includes hemodynamics, monitoring and mechanical circulatory support, and considerations for timing and appropriateness of cardiac catheterization.
• Pulmonary and hematologic management in the ICU needs future research on the impact of oxygenation and ventilation on all organs, and studies on the safety and efficacy of early thromboprophylaxis in patients after cardiac arrest are warranted.
• Additional system and disease management in the ICU includes digestive system management, infectious disease management and endocrine and fluids management. Management of these systems and diseases is an important aspect of critical care management, and future research is needed.

While there are guidelines to address some relevant topics such as temperature control, there are numerous other areas that need attention. 

“Until high-quality studies that inform practice guidelines in these areas are available, we hope this statement will help further advise clinicians on the critical care management of patients after cardiac arrest,” said Karen G. Hirsch, M.D., associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Stanford University and co-chair of the writing committee.

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A report released last June indicated that heart disease was the leading cause of death in Michigan and the United States. Over a ten year period, heart disease mortality rates per 100,000 residents in the state decreased by 5% and 10% in the U.S.