OnMedica – News – No increased risk of cardiac arrest on weekends

A study shows the interest of the teams of cardiac arrest 24/7

Patients admitted to NHS hospitals with cardiac arrest over the weekend are not at risk of death higher than those admitted during the week.

This is the conclusion of a new research * presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) conference in Manchester.

Research conducted by Dr. Rahul Potluri, founder of the ACALM study unit at Aston University, involved 4,803 people hospitalized for cardiac arrest.

The team examined the five-year survival of people in cardiac arrest and treated in an NHS hospital. They found that there was no difference in survival for those admitted on weekends.

The research has been adjusted to take into account external factors that may influence mortality rates, such as the most common age, bad, ethnic group and causes of death in the UK.

This study follows earlier work presented at the BCS conference, suggesting the existence of a "weekend effect" in hospitalized individuals with heart failure or atrial fibrillation. However, the presence of 24-hour, all-year cardiac arrest teams could be responsible for the same level of care and outcome as those who experience cardiac arrest, whether they are treated on a weekday or the weekend.

Dr. Rahul Potluri, Clinical Professor of Cardiology at Aston Medical School, said: "No matter what day of the week, a person hospitalized for a cardiac arrest has the same chance of survival and this should be extremely rebaduring for the patient. public.

"The effect of the weekend is by no means a general phenomenon. We know that it exists for people with other heart conditions. It is therefore important to identify who is affected by the weekend effect through the search delivered when and where they are needed most. "

Dr. Shajil Chalil, a consulting cardiologist at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust and co-author, said, "You can not choose when a cardiac arrest is catastrophic. But our research potentially highlights the value of cardiac arrest teams in hospitals in providing optimal care to these heart patients every minute of every day. "

Prof. Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This is a success story that shows the vital importance of teams of specialists working in the NHS."

*Potluri R, More R, Chalil S, et al.24 Patients in cardiac arrest presenting in hospitals on weekends are not subject to the weekend effect: information from the big data of the day. ACALM, United Kingdom. Heart 2019; 105: A21.