Avoidable mortality after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

More than 50,000 people suffer annually in Spain an episode of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but less than 10% of those individuals are successfully resuscitated and return home to live productive lives. The application of the scientific evidence available in resuscitation could substantially improve such dismal outcome. However, most of the procedures that have been able to reduce mortality are not sufficiently being used in Spain. In addition to the development of really intense strategies for early defibrillation, 4 current aspects in resuscitation have the greatest potential for improving outcome: a) prevention of cardiac arrests through recognition of early warning signs and timely intervention; b) flow-based cardiopulmonary resuscitation limiting the role of ventilation; c) use of technology in driving resuscitation interventions, and d) use of hypothermia.