The UK ambulance services are called to attend 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) each year. Hospital studies have shown that many patients who suffer an in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) have been deteriorating for the preceeding 48 hrs and suggest that many IHCA are potentially avoidable if this deterioration is identified and actued on promptly. No similar study has been performed to see if patients suffering OHCA have also presented with warning signs in the preceeding 48 hrs that were overlooked.
A cardiac arrest is often preceeded by a varying period of physiological deterioration which if acted upon may prevent the cardiac arrest. We aim to review patients presenting to the ambulance service with cardiac arrest so see if they had contacted the ambulance service in the preceeding 48 hrs to understand if warning symptoms were missed or not acted upon appropriately.