In a new study, researchers found that COVID-19 patients who suffer a cardiac arrest either in or out of hospital are far more likely to die than patients who are not infected with the coronavirus.
In particular, women have the highest risk of dying: they are nine times more likely to die after suffering a cardiac arrest in a hospital.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden).
In the study, the team analyzed data from a nationwide registry that started to collect data on COVID-19 from 1 April 2020 onwards.
They included 1946 people who suffered a cardiac arrest out of hospital (OHCA) and 1080 who suffered one in hospital (IHCA).
During the pandemic phase of the study, COVID-19 was involved in at least 10% of all OHCAs and 16% of IHCAs.
Coronavirus patients who had an OHCA had 3 times higher risk of dying within 30 days, while IHCA patients had a two times higher risk of dying within 30 days.
None of these patients had been discharged alive from the hospital by the time the study was written in October 2020. Many had died and the rest were still being treated in hospital.
The study clearly shows that cardiac arrest and COVID-19 is a very lethal combination.
This is the first detailed report of outcomes in COVID-19 patients who suffer cardiac arrest.
The study also showed that fewer patients in hospitals with COVID-19 were monitored with electrocardiograms, which is potentially life-saving as it enables a cardiac arrest to be spotted immediately.
The team believes that COVID-19 patients should be monitored with ECGs and monitored for oxygen saturation, as this would allow for prompt recognition of irregular heartbeats and declining oxygen saturation.
One author of the study is Dr. Pedram Sultanian.
The study is published in the European Heart Journal.
Copyright © 2021 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
