A single-center, nonblinded, clinical trial comparing blood pressures before and after tourniquet application in healthy humans: A study protocol.

Introduction: Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of natural death in the United States, and most surviving patients suffer from neurological dysfunction. Although this is recognized as a problem, there have been very few changes to the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) procedure. Tourniquets have been recognized for their ability to increase truncal blood pressure and have been shown to improve CPR outcomes in animal models.

Peripheral Arterial Compression as a New Adjunct Technique to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

The success of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is critically dependent on the maintenance of myocardial and cerebral perfusion; therefore, preferential perfusion of these vital organs over non-vital vascular beds, such as the extremities, is desirable. We propose that compression of the femoral and/or brachial arteries during CPR improves resuscitation outcomes.