A new shows that survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) declined significantly in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes worsened through 2022.
The research, , analyzed data from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), the nation鈥檚 largest OHCA outcomes database. Researchers compared data from 2015鈥�2019 with the pandemic years of 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Survival rates dropped from an average of 9.9% in 2019 to 9% in 2020, with larger decreases seen in Black and Hispanic communities. Those disparities persisted, with survival rates for these populations remaining 8%-10% lower through 2022.
鈥淥ur results show that the pandemic largely eroded gains in cardiac arrest survival that had been achieved during the 10 years before the pandemic and exacerbated disparities,鈥� said senior author Dr. Saket Girotra, associate professor of internal medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern.
Prior to the pandemic, improvements in public awareness, emergency response times and access to automated external defibrillators had contributed to better survival outcomes. But the pandemic disrupted many aspects of emergency care, and the study found that survival rates have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
鈥淥ur expectation was that survival after cardiac arrest had likely bounced back by 2022 to pre-pandemic levels,鈥� said lead author Dr. Eric Hall, a clinical fellow in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern. 鈥淲hat we found instead is that it remained 8%-10% lower, which suggests there were still some lingering effects of the pandemic on emergency cardiac care.鈥�
The study included more than 500,000 OHCA patients served by over 1,300 EMS agencies. In 2020, survival in majority Black and Hispanic communities dropped by 16.5%, compared to 8.1% in predominantly white communities and 6.5% in integrated communities.
鈥淭hese findings highlight the urgent need to address long-standing racial and ethnic differences in cardiac arrest outcomes,鈥� Girotra said. 鈥淥ur team is continuing to study how EMS agencies provide OHCA care in their communities to identify and share best practices.鈥�
The researchers also noted an increase in drug-related OHCA cases throughout the study period.
鈥淭he pandemic phase of COVID-19 may be over, but many of the health impacts remain,鈥� Girotra said.
The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and included contributions from Dr. James de Lemos, Dr. Anezi Uzendu and biostatistical consultant Qiang Li.
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