Admission of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims to a high volume cardiac arrest center is linked to improved outcome.

Aim: Cardiac arrest centers have been associated with improved outcome for patients after cardiac arrest. Aim of this study was to investigate the effect on outcome depending on admission to high-, medium- or low volume centers.

Methods: Analysis from a prospective, multicenter registry for out of hospital cardiac arrest patients treated by the emergency medical service of Vienna, Austria.

N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide as an indicator of possible cardiovascular disease in severely obese individuals: comparison with patients in different stages of heart failure.

Background: Mild stages of heart failure might be difficult to diagnose in severely obese individuals with a body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m(2). Measurement of the N-terminal fragment of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is feasible for detecting cardiac impairment. The aims of our study were to measure NT-proBNP in plasma of severely obese patients and to compare the results with results for patients in different stages of manifest cardiac dysfunction.