Advanced Cardiac Life Support in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Rapid defibrillation is the key intervention known to improve the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study showed that the addition of advanced cardiac life support (endotracheal intubation and the administration of intravenous medications) to a program of rapid defibrillation did not further improve the outcome. The addition of advanced cardiac life support to a program of rapid defibrillation did not further improve the outcome. Sudden cardiac arrest occurring outside the hospital is an important public health problem. Almost half a million deaths per year in the United States are attributed to sudden cardiac arrest, and 47 percent of those deaths occur outside hospitals. 1 Most communities have overall survival rates of less than 5 percent for cardiac arrests occurring outside the hospital. There is no evidence that these rates are increasing, despite extensive use of advanced treatments and technology. 2 , 3 The American Heart Association's four-step “chain of survival” concept has been promoted as a means of optimizing community responses. 4 Better survival has been associated with . . .