The Role of Emergency Coronary Intervention During and Following Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

The vast majority of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have underlying coronary artery disease. Acute coronary ischemia is a common trigger for out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. Often, culprit lesions can be readily identified during coronary angiography immediately after resuscitation. Coronary angiography after successful resuscitation should be done whenever a cardiac cause for the arrest is suspected. Early coronary angiography combined with mild therapeutic hypothermia is the best strategy for improving long-term neurologically intact survival in those successfully resuscitated. Cardiac arrest centers seem to be the best option for providing more cardiac arrest victims with aggressive postresuscitation care.