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Review
. 2022 Dec 16;3(6Part B):857-863.
doi: 10.1016/j.hroo.2022.07.009. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest within the United States: Now is the time for change

Nishaki K Mehta  1   2 , Sahitya Allam  3 , Sula Mazimba  2 , Saima Karim  4
Affiliations
Review

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest within the United States: Now is the time for change

Nishaki K Mehta et al. Heart Rhythm O2. .

Abstract

This review highlights the current evidence on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in cardiac arrest outcomes within the United States. Several studies demonstrate that patients from Black, Hispanic, or lower socioeconomic status backgrounds suffer the most from disparities at multiple levels of the resuscitation pathway, including in the provision of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillator usage, and postresuscitation therapies. These gaps in care may altogether lead to lower survival rates and worse neurological outcomes for these patients. A multisystem, culturally sensitive approach to improving cardiac arrest outcomes is suggested in this article.

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Defibrillation; Ethnic disparities; Health care delivery; Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; Postresuscitation care; Racial disparities; Socioeconomic disparities.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The 4 “Chain of Survival” actions for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and how minority and/or lower income patients are negatively impacted for each action. AED = automated external defibrillator; CPR = cardiopulmonary resuscitation; EMS = emergency medical services.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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