AHA: Recovery important link in ‘Chain of Survival’ after cardiac arrest
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Following Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest during the Euro 2020 tournament, the American Heart Association issued a reminder of how critical the link of recovery is in the Chain of Survival.
“Survivorship is a journey that starts with the sudden cardiac arrest and includes at least the first 12 months thereafter,” Kelly N. Sawyer, MD, MS, AHA volunteer and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a press release. “Post-cardiac arrest care is multidisciplinary and requires coordination so that it does not end when patients are discharged from the hospital.”
Recovery was added to the Chain of Survival in 2020 to ensure that survivors and caregivers would watch for physical, cognitive or emotional problems after leaving the hospital. The AHA recommends that survivors be given structured assessments for anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress and fatigue, in addition to a rehabilitation assessment before being discharged from the hospital.
“Survival after cardiac arrest is complex and requires long-term support,” Sawyer said in the release.
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts