Early adrenaline therapy helps recover from cardiac arrest

According to preliminary research that will be presented at the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium (ReSS) in 2021, early adrenaline therapy during cardiac arrest is associated with better recovery compared to later treatment

"The results of our study should guide emergency medical professionals to use epinephrine as soon as possible when dealing with cardiac arrest outside the hospital," said Shengyuan Luo, MD, a medical resident at the Chicago Rush University Medical Center, the lead author of the study

Unlike heart disease caused by clogged blood vessels, cardiac arrest is caused by arrhythmia causing the heart to stop beating suddenly

According to the 2021 Heart and Stroke Statistics Update by the American Heart Association, in the United States, more than 356,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital each year

In cardiac arrest, immediate CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is essential

Previous studies have shown that epinephrine should be given after three unsuccessful AED shocks

Compare the effects of early and late administration

In order to compare the effects of early and late use of epinephrine, the researchers checked medical records to compare the duration of epinephrine use with the patient's recovery

In general, injecting epinephrine within 4 minutes after AED shock is more likely to recover, while injecting epinephrine after 4 minutes is less likely to recover

"Once a cardiac arrest is suspected, the emergency medical system should be notified and activated immediately.

These findings support the latest "Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Cardiovascular Emergency Guidelines" issued by the American Heart Association in October 2020

Although this study found an association between early adrenaline administration and better recovery after cardiac arrest, it cannot explain other effects on recovery