The Institute of Medicine has released a new report on how to improve survival from cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death worldwide.
The report, called "Strategies to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival: A Time to Act (2015)," was supported by the American Heart Association, which recognized the opportunity and call to action the report creates to meaningfully improve outcomes for cardiac arrest.
According to Nancy Brown, CEO of AHA, the new IOM report will help accelerate the AHA's goal of doubling cardiac arrest survival, which will save an additional 50,000 cardiac arrest victims each year.
The report outlines eight recommendations to improve survival from sudden cardiac arrest, listed below.
- Establish a national cardiac arrest registry.
- Foster a culture of action through public awareness and training.
- Enhance the capabilities and performance of EMS systems.
- Set national accreditation standards related to cardiac arrest for hospitals and healthcare systems.
- Adopt continuous quality improvement programs.
- Accelerate research on pathophysiology, new therapies and translation of science for cardiac arrest.
- Accelerate research on the evaluation and adoption of cardiac arrest therapies.
- Create a national cardiac arrest collaborative.
The AHA also issued a special report outlining its bolstered commitment to improving survival from cardiac arrest. To read more, click here.