Environmental News Network - Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Third Leading Cause of Disease-Related Health Loss

Details: By American Heart Association; 12.Mar

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was the third leading cause of “health loss due to disease” in the United States behind ischemic heart disease and low back/neck pain in 2016, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

Julie Swatson

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was the third leading cause of “health loss due to disease” in the United States behind ischemic heart disease and low back/neck pain in 2016, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

This groundbreaking study is the first to estimate disability-adjusted life years (DALY) – which measures the sum of years of life lost prematurely and years lived with disability due to a disease – among those who experienced non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States.

Cardiac arrest is an abrupt loss of the heart’s ability to pump, which leads to death within minutes if not treated. Its effect on years lost to premature death and disability is currently unknown.

Using the national Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) database, researchers examined 59,752 cases of adult, non-traumatic, Emergency Medical Services (EMS)-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from 2016.

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Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Third Leading Cause of Disease-Related Health Loss