Publications by authors named "Levon Vartanian"
Background: The respiratory pump can be optimized to enhance circulation in patients with hypotension by having patients spontaneously breathe through a low level of inspiratory resistance. This can be achieved with an impedance threshold device (ITD) designed to provide 7 cm H2O resistance during spontaneous inspiration with minimal resistance during expiration. Little is known about the effects of harnessing this physiological concept to increase blood pressure (BP) in the prehospital setting of care for patients with hypotension caused by blood loss or trauma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The purpose of the study was to determine whether applying highly recommended changes in the 2005 American Heart Association (AHA) Guidelines would improve outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Background: In 2005, AHA recommended multiple ways to improve circulation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Methods: Conglomerate quality assurance data were analyzed during prospective implementation of the 2005 AHA Guidelines in five emergency medical services (EMS) systems.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to: 1) describe a newly mechanism of blood flow to the brain during cardiopulmonary resuscitation using the impedance threshold device in a piglet model of cardiac arrest, and 2) describe the survival benefits in humans of applying all of the highly recommended changes in the 2005 guidelines related to increasing circulation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including use of the impedance threshold device, from six emergency medical services systems in the United States.
Design: Animal studies prospective trial with each piglet serving as its own control. Historical controls were used for the human studies.