Survival Rates After Cardiac Arrest Significantly Improved

In Vienna, the chances of survival following a cardiac arrest have increased by ten percentage points over the past 15 years, according to a new study conducted by the Vienna Emergency Medical Services in collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna. This research was published in the medical journal medRxiv.

The study indicates that improvements in survival rates can be attributed to several factors, including the prompt response from bystanders, the increased use of defibrillators, and efficient resuscitation efforts by emergency medical personnel.

The reported increase in survival rates--from 29% to 39%--specifically pertains to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests where resuscitation was attempted on patients with a favorable initial condition. The study analyzed data from approximately 7,500 patients, comparing records from 2009-2010 with those from 2019-2023. Sebastian Schnaubelt, a senior physician at Vienna's Emergency Medical Services, explained that this data is compiled and anonymized in the Vienna Cardiac Arrest Registry (VICAR), which has been in operation since 2008. The registry collects and evaluates preclinical measures for cardiac arrests in Vienna, serving both research and quality assurance purposes for advanced resuscitation techniques.

Rainer Gottwald, the head of the Vienna Emergency Medical Services, noted that the significant improvement in survival rates reflects the effectiveness of the entire rescue chain, which includes bystander intervention, the availability of defibrillators, professional assistance from rescue teams, and prompt hospital care. Moreover, he highlighted the crucial role of bystanders, who initiated lifesaving chest compressions in 34% of cases, thereby activating the rescue chain without delay.

Another vital component in enhancing survival rates has been the early deployment of public access defibrillators, which are widely available throughout the city. Furthermore, the Vienna Emergency Call Center utilizes a mobile app to dispatch police, firefighters, and trained volunteers to the scene of the emergency.

The efforts of Vienna's emergency medical teams have also resulted in 25% of treated individuals being able to return to an independent circulatory state after resuscitation. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of patients who leave the hospital in a good neurological condition, rising from 25% to 30% during the studied timeframe. Alexander Niessner, head of the cardiology department at Klinik Landstraße, emphasized that a swift and comprehensive rescue chain is essential for facilitating further hospital care, which may include advanced individual therapy options like catheterization.

This study underscores the importance of timely intervention and the collective efforts of both laypersons and professionals in improving outcomes for patients experiencing cardiac arrests.