Targeting the Optimal Mean Arterial Pressure in Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury After Cardiac Arrest

Hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is the ensuing brain injury after cardiac arrest and is the primary cause of adverse outcome. HIBI is caused by low oxygen delivery to the brain. The patient's blood pressure is primary determinant of oxygen delivery to the brain. International guidelines recommend maintaining uniform blood pressure targets in all patients, however, this 'one size fits all approach' fails to account for individual baseline differences between patient's blood pressures and extent of underlying disease. Recently, 'autoregulation monitoring', a novel brain monitoring technique, has emerged as a viable tool to identify patient specific blood pressures after brain injury. This personalized medicine approach of targeting patient specific blood pressure (MAPopt) is associated with improved outcome in traumatic brain injury. It has not been evaluated in HIBI after cardiac arrest.

Recently, I completed a first-in-human study demonstrating the ability to identify MAPopt in HIBI patients using neuromonitoring (microcatheters inserted into the brain tissue). The proposed study in this grant is to take the next step and investigate the changes in key brain physiologic variables (brain blood flow and oxygenation) before and after therapeutically targeting MAPopt in HIBI patients. This interventional study will serve as the basis to embark on a pilot randomized control trial of MAPopt targeted therapy versus standard of care in HIBI patients after cardiac arrest.