Percutaneous Coronary Revascularization after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Review of the Literature and a Case Series

Abstract

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is still associated with high mortality and severe complications, despite major treatment advances in this field. Ischemic heart disease is a common cause of OHCA, and current guidelines clearly recommend performing immediate coronary angiography (CAG) in patients whose post-resuscitation electrocardiogram shows ST-segment elevation (STE). Contrarily, the optimal approach and the advantage of early revascularization in cases of no STE is less clear, and decisions are often based on the individual experience of the center. Numerous studies have been conducted on this topic and have provided contradictory evidence; however, more recently, results from several randomized clinical trials have suggested that performing early CAG has no impact on overall survival in patients without STE.