Survival charges for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) fell in the course of the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Black and Hispanic sufferers experiencing bigger decreases in survival, in line with a examine led by UT Southwestern Medical Heart researchers printed in Resuscitation.
Our outcomes present that the pandemic largely eroded positive factors in cardiac arrest survival that had been achieved in the course of the 10 years earlier than the pandemic and exacerbated disparities.”
Saket Girotra, M.D., Senior Creator, Affiliate Professor of Inner Drugs, Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern
Earlier than the pandemic started in March 2020, OHCA survival charges had been steadily enhancing because of elevated public consciousness, sooner emergency response occasions, and broader entry to automated exterior defibrillators (AEDs). In 2019, the common general survival price stood at 9.9%, although it was decrease in majority Black and Hispanic communities.
However general survival dropped to 9% in 2020, with bigger declines in majority Black and Hispanic communities. By 2022, these racial/ethnic disparities persevered.
To evaluate OHCA developments after the pandemic started, Dr. Girotra and his colleagues analyzed information from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Improve Survival (CARES) – the most important nationwide database monitoring out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes, with full information from 30 states and chosen communities in 16 extra states. Researchers in contrast survival charges after cardiac arrest earlier than the pandemic (2015-2019) to every of the years after the beginning of the pandemic (2020, 2021, and 2022).
“Our expectation was that survival after cardiac arrest had possible bounced again by 2022 to pre-pandemic ranges,” stated lead writer Eric Corridor, M.D., a medical fellow within the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern. “What we discovered as an alternative is that it remained 8%-10% decrease, which suggests there have been nonetheless some lingering results of the pandemic on emergency cardiac care.”
The examine cohort included 506,419 OHCA sufferers served by 1,313 emergency medical service (EMS) businesses. Not solely had been pre-pandemic survival charges decrease in majority Black/Hispanic (7.9%) and built-in (10.7%) communities versus predominantly white communities (11.1%), in addition they fell extra, with Black/Hispanic survival charges reducing 16.5% in 2020, in contrast with the drop in white (8.1%) and built-in (6.5%) communities.
“These findings spotlight the pressing want to handle long-standing racial and ethnic variations in cardiac arrest outcomes,” Dr. Girotra stated. “Our workforce is continuous to review how EMS businesses present OHCA care of their communities to establish and share finest practices.”
One issue within the rise of OHCA in the course of the pandemic was a rise in instances associated to drug overdoses. The examine discovered that the variety of drug-related OHCA instances continued to rise by means of the tip of the examine.
“The pandemic part of COVID-19 could also be over, however most of the well being impacts stay,” Dr. Girotra stated.
Different UTSW researchers who contributed to the examine are James de Lemos, M.D., Professor of Inner Drugs and Chief of the Division of Cardiology; Anezi Uzendu, M.D., Assistant Professor of Inner Drugs within the Division of Cardiology; and Qiang Li, M.Sc., Biostatistical Guide.
The examine was funded by the Nationwide Coronary heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (R01HL160734).
Supply:
UT Southwestern Medical Heart  
Journal reference:
Mall, Ej, et al. (2025). Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival in Black & Hispanic communities for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic. Resuscitation. doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2025.110579.
