Every year, between 1,200 and 1,500 patients suffer a cardiac arrest in Norwegian hospitals. Then quick and good treatment is absolutely essential. Because even if the cardiac arrest occurs within the hospital’s four walls, the prognosis is poor. Only one in five survives. And one of the lucky ones is 77-year-old Hildur Ringdal from Trondheim. She fell over at St. Olav’s hospital when she was due to take a blood test in 2021. – I sat down on the chair and felt miserable. And more than that I don’t remember until I woke up in a hospital bed. Today, everyone receives the same treatment. When a heart stops, you have to hurry, and the life-saving efforts can last a long time. But you rarely have a good idea of what the outcome will be. – Now it is the case that everyone gets the same treatment anyway. And with the wide range we have in different types of cardiac arrest and patients, we think that is not the most logical thing to do. This is what senior physician and research fellow at NTNU, Anders Norvik, tells news. Together with researchers from Trondheim, Stavanger, the USA and Spain, he has tried to find a solution to precisely this. In a new study, they have analyzed ECG data from nearly 400 patients with cardiac arrest. The information is taken from defibrillators at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim and two American hospitals. And now the researchers have found that the EKG markers can give a clue as to how the treatment is working – as much as four to five minutes ahead of time. Senior doctor and research fellow Anders Norvik demonstrates cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Behind stands Eirik Skogvoll. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news Which way does the arrow point? The hope is that the new method can mean a more tailored treatment in the future. – It could mean that we continue the good treatment that is given, if the arrow points in the right direction. It may also mean that one has to reassess part of the treatment strategy if the arrow points in the wrong direction, says senior physician Eirik Skogvoll. He has led the study. – Can it provide information that says you should try to do it a little differently? – Yes, it can be a way to individualize the treatment of cardiac arrest. The international research group will be the first in the world to have managed to find this out. But still, the superiors at St. Olav believe that more research must be done to get better answers. They want the findings to be verified with the help of other and independent studies. – We hope this can help save more lives, says Anders Norvik. Even if a cardiac arrest occurs in a hospital, one has only a 20 percent chance of survival, according to the doctors. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news – I was lucky Hildur Ringdal says that she was in the right place at the right time. She has had no health problems other than the cardiac arrest. – I was lucky to be in the hospital when it happened, says the 77-year-old. If you were to witness a cardiac arrest, the experts have good advice: – Then there are two things that are very important. First you call for help, then you start CPR. Then 30 cardiac compressions and two breaths apply. This is how you continue until help arrives, explains Norvik. Because if someone is to survive a cardiac arrest, someone has to see it – and do something about it.
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Can predict how cardiopulmonary resuscitation will work minutes ahead – news Trøndelag
