Improving survival after cardiac arrest in Europe: The synergetic effect of rescue chain strategies.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a global problem and is considered the third leading cause of death in industrialized countries. Patient survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vary significantly between countries and continents. In particular, the 2021 European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Resuscitation Guidelines place a special focus on the chain of survival of patients after OHCA.

Telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first responder systems, cardiac arrest centers, and global campaigns to save lives.

Purpose Of Review: The latest resuscitation guidelines contain a new chapter, which focuses on systems improving care for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In this article, we describe recent developments regarding telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first responder systems, cardiac arrest centers, and global campaigns.

Recent Findings: Telephone CPR has been implemented in many countries, and recent developments include artificial intelligence and video calls to improve dispatch assisted CPR.

[Role of German cardiac arrest centers in mediating basic life support].

Background And Objective: Despite a measurable increase in recent years, the bystander resuscitation rate in Germany lags behind the European comparison. Special centers for the care of patients after cardiac arrest, so-called cardiac arrest centers (CAC), have been established. The aim of this work is to evaluate the role of CACs, in addition to in-hospital patient care, in improving the bystander resuscitation rate in Germany and what obstacles exist in the implementation of resuscitation training.