EMERGEncy Versus Delayed Coronary Angiogram in Survivors of Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest With no Obvious Non Cardiac Cause of Arrest

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major public health issue with a low survival rate. The most common cause of SCD is acute coronary artery occlusion. Several registry based studies suggest that coronary angiography (CA) performed at admission followed if necessary by coronary angioplasty improves in-hospital and long term survival. Recent guidelines recommend performing an immediate CA in all survivors of SCD with no obvious non cardiac cause of arrest. However there is a lack of randomized data on this topic.

Several retrospective studies have shown that if the post-resuscitation electrocardiogram (ECG) shows ST segment elevation, the probability of finding an acute coronary artery lesion during the CA is high (70-80%). In contrast, if no ST segment elevation is present the probability is low (15-20%).

Performing an immediate CA in all survivors of SCD can be challenging. It requires admitting these patients to centers with an intensive care unit and facilities allowing 24/24 7/7 CA. It may increase the delay of performing other therapeutic modalities such as CT brain or thorax scan to determine the cause of SCD. Performing the CA 48 to 96 hours after admission would facilitate the management of these difficult patients. However if the cause of the arrest is a coronary artery occlusion and there is a delay in reperfusion, the rate of post-arrest shock and the mortality may increase. Therefore a randomized study comparing immediate versus delayed (between 48 to 96 hours) CA in survivors of SCD with no obvious non-cardiac cause of arrest is warranted.