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Occasionally our research team will flag recently published works that it feels are important to advance. This post reviews three such articles that review emergency heart and stroke care and outcomes based on lifetime risk, sex-based disparities, and digital preventative strategies.

1. The study, Men may face high lifetime risk of sudden cardiac death, offers the first lifetime risk estimate for sudden cardiac death. According to this study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, about one in every nine men will experience sudden cardiac death, most before age 70, as well as about one in 30 women. The study also found men with two or more major risk factors at all ages had even higher lifetime risks of at least 12 percent.
   High blood pressure helped to identify lifetime risk more accurately in both men and women than any other single risk factor and could lead to better screening methods for sudden cardiac death.
   Click here to learn more about this study.
2. Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Gender gap found in cardiac arrest care, outcomes, is the first to represent sex-based disparities amongst more than 1,000 cardiac arrest patients from hospitals nationwide. During the 10-year-study, the number of cardiac arrest patients treated at hospitals increased while in-hospital death rates fell for both sexes, but remained higher for women.
   Additionally, the study found that women treated at a hospital after cardiac arrest may be less likely than men to receive potentially life-saving procedures such as angiography to look for blocked coronary arteries or angioplasty to open arteries.
   Click here to learn more about this study.
3. A new scientific statement published in the journal Circulation, Digital strategies show promise for emergency heart and stroke care, examines several potential focuses for future digital strategy studies. These possibilities include: mobile devices that are converted into defibrillators; video sharing platforms to help real-time bystander CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) coaching; and the potential for emergency personnel to use cell phones to pinpoint the best hospital based on patient, traffic, hospital readiness and average treatment times.
   These digital strategies have the potential to improve emergency care for cardiac arrests, heart attacks and strokes, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association.
   Click here to learn more about this study.

Although these studies examine various aspects of emergency cardiovascular care and treatment, they all rely on preventative measures that are often completed outside of a hospital setting. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and public access to cardiac arrest education, knowledge of how to perform CPR, and how to use defibrillators are imperative to improving survival rates. As we work to achieve our 2020 Impact Goals, remember that our collective effort each day matters¬¬—you’re helping us save lives!