The ECMO team of the VFN also intervenes on the street
By connecting to ECMO, patients in cardiac arrest are given another chance of survival
Sudden cardiac death is one of the most common causes of death not only in the Czech Republic. A well-established system of pre-hospital and early hospital care is crucial for the survival of these critically ill patients – early identification of sudden cardiac arrest, management of lay assistance by a dispatcher of the emergency medical service (EMS), the fastest possible intervention of the EMS crew on site, high-quality uninterrupted resuscitation, rapid transport to the hospital and, in special cases, connection to extracorporeal circulation (ECMO). At a press conference, the head of the department, Prof. MUDr. Jan Bělohlávek, Ph.D. from the II. Internal Clinic – Cardiology and Angiology Clinic of the 1st Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and the General Hospital and representatives of the Emergency Medical Service of the City of Prague described in detail how the ECPR (extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation) team of the General Hospital can now connect a patient with cardiac arrest to extracorporeal circulation more quickly in the field.
