Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias after Cardiac Arrest in Public versus at Home

In a large U.S.–Canadian registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, shockable rhythms were more common in public settings than in the home. This finding has important implications for resuscitation strategies, especially the use of automated external defibrillators. The incidence of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia as the first recorded rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has declined dramatically in the past several decades. 1 , 2 Thirty years ago, 70% of such arrests were characterized by initial ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia; today, the incidence is 23%. 3 , 4 This decline is of substantial importance for public health, since more than 300,000 Americans have an out-of-hospital arrest each year, with an estimated survival rate of 7.9% nationally, 5 and the majority of survivors are in the subgroup of persons whose initial rhythm is ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia. 3 Controlled . . .