What is an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest?

 "Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) describes the loss of mechanical cardiac function and the absence of systemic circulation. Time is crucial, with a lack of perfusion leading to continual cell death; with each second that passes the possibility of a good outcome decreases. Despite a long history of trying to improve how we manage OHCA, survival remains dismally low. Only over the past 5 years have clinicians begun to see meaningful improvements in prognosis and neurological outcomes. Globally, it is estimated that on average, less than 10% of all patients with OHCA will survive. The time it takes to initiate CPR has the greatest impact on survival. It therefore falls to the community to start CPR and maintain viability while emergency services arrive. Successful outcomes rely on the coordination of the “chain of survival”—a complex relationship between public bystanders, emergency services, and hospital providers. "