Post-ROSC Atrial fibrillation is not associated with rearrest but is associated with stroke and mortality following out of hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest (CA) is associated with increased short-term mortality. However, whether this is because AF adversely affects early resuscitation success, causes post-resuscitation morbidity, or because it is a marker for patient co-morbidities, remains unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of AF in patients with ROSC to test the hypothesis that AF is associated with increased risk of rearrest and to determine its impact on mortality and stroke risk.

Spontaneous Repolarization Alternans Causes VT/VF Rearrest That Is Suppressed by Preserving Gap Junctions.

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) rearrest after successful resuscitation is common, and survival is poor. A mechanism of VT/VF, as demonstrated in ex vivo studies, is when repolarization alternans becomes spatially discordant (DIS ALT), which can be enhanced by impaired gap junctions (GJs). However, in vivo spontaneous DIS ALT-induced VT/VF has never been demonstrated, and the effects of GJ on DIS ALT and VT/VF rearrest are unknown.