ARREST the Advance of Fatal Cardiac Failure.

• Position: LIFE SUPPORT

Using a life support machine to replicate the functions of the heart and lungs significantly improved the survival of people who suffered from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to a study published in The Lancet. The treatment program involving the life support machine called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) proved so much more effective than the standard treatment for this usually fatal condition that the trial was stopped early after enrolling just 30 of the expected 165 patients.

The study, known as the Advanced Reperfusion Strategies for Refractory Cardiac Arrest (ARREST) trial, was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It found that using ECMO as part of a broader program of care for cardiac arrest resulted in the survival of six of 14 patients compared with just one of 15 patients receiving standard treatment. Standard care for cardiac arrest typically includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation, intubation, and intravenous medications.

"This is the first trial to show a significant difference in outcomes after hospital admission among patients treated for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with a team-based ECMO strategy," explains George Sopko, program director in the NHLBI's Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. "We can improve outcomes for this common health...