The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.

Adrenaline shot can save lives after heart stops, but at a heavy price

An adrenaline shot can restart your heart if it suddenly stops beating, but a new trial shows that chances are you might not return to much of a life if you survive. People who suffered cardiac arrest and were resuscitated with adrenaline had an almost doubled risk of severe brain damage, researchers found. "We found adrenaline does not increase… Read More

New Colorado office to collect cardiac arrest data to improve survivability

Local individuals, organizations played vital role in establishing the office On June 1, 2022, Colorado became the first state to establish an office exclusively dedicated to saving people who experience cardiac arrest. House Bill 22-1251, sponsored by Rep. Dylan Roberts and Sen. Jeff Bridges, took effect on July 1 and established the Office of… Read More

Renovacor announces pipeline expansion with new research program for multiple genetic segments of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

Research collaboration with the University of Utah's Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute expands pipeline with the addition of an AAV gene therapy program for multiple genetic segments of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Renovacor, Inc. (NYSE: RCOR), a biotechnology company focused on delivering… Read More

Johns Hopkins Medicine study: Abnormal heart metabolism may predict future sudden cardiac death

Adults with abnormal heart metabolism are up to three times more likely to experience life-threatening arrhythmias (an irregular heart rhythm), and MRI techniques could be used to detect the condition and predict future sudden cardiac death (SCD), according to a small, but rigorous study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers. The findings… Read More

Qualitative study of long‐term cardiac arrest survivors’ challenges and recommendations for improving survivorship

A new qualitative study by Alex Presciutti and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Heart Association describes challenges associated with cardiac arrest survivorship and discusses cardiac arrest survivors’ recommendations to improve survivorship.  Presciutti and colleagues interviewed 15 members of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation… Read More

Guy Knickerbocker, PhD, CPR Pioneer

G. Guy Knickerbocker, PhD, of Narvon PA, passed away peacefully on June 21, 2022, at the age of 89. He is known as one of the inventors of CPR, and according to ScienceHeroes.com, it is estimated he has saved more than 25,000,000 lives. In 1954, Knickerbocker, a Baltimore native, began working toward his PhD in electrical engineering at Johns… Read More

Up to 80% of athletes who die suddenly had no symptoms or family history of heart disease

SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS--Recommendations on how to use gene testing to prevent sudden cardiac death in athletes and enable safe exercise are published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).   “Genetic testing for potentially lethal variants is more accessible than ever before and… Read More

Rapid profound hypothermia (suspended animation) is in clinical trials as a new, innovative approach to emergency care when CPR fails

GAITHERSBURG, MD--Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation (EPR), rapid profound hypothermia, is being pursued in clinical trials, as a revolutionary approach to be the next standard of emergency care to save countless lives when CPR fails.   Approximately 2,000 people die per day in the U.S. from traumatic exsanguination (bleeding out) resulting… Read More

Congressman Barr’s CAROL Act one step closer to becoming law

WASHINGTON, DC--The Cardiovascular Advances in Research and Opportunities Legacy (CAROL) Act advanced unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The full Senate must now consider and pass the bill. U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) led the CAROL Act… Read More

Breakthrough: New screening test for those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest

New research from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Australia will allow families around the world to discover if they are carrying genetic mutations that cause sudden cardiac arrest – a condition that kills nine out of 10 victims. Researchers at the Institute have developed a new electrical test that can screen hundreds of gene… Read More