Adrenalin can save a heart but hurt the brain. Canadian research aims to find best dose for a potent drug
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2024 5:41 am
Adrenalin can save a heart but hurt the brain. Canadian research aims to find best dose for a potent drug
Read more here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/adrenali ... -1.7137066
Thousands of patients will be part of six-year study that could change treatment guidelines for cardiac arrest
A team of Canadian researchers co-led by Dr. Steve Lin, the interim chief of emergency medicine at Unity Health Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, hopes to learn the right dose of epinephrine, also known as adrenalin, to give to patients experiencing cardiac arrest. Right now, data is limited, but the studies that do exist suggest higher doses can leave survivors with brain damage.
When Dan Shire's heart stopped beating in 2016, it led to a race against time to save his life.
Shire's wife heard him struggling to breathe in the middle of the night. Then she ran to the phone to call 911, started CPR, and waited minute-by-painful-minute for first responders to show up.
Once paramedics arrived at the couple's Pickering, Ont., home, they used a defibrillator on Shire four times, then tried a potent medication in an attempt to restart his heart.
That drug, epinephrine — also called adrenalin — is given intravenously every three to five minutes, up to an average of six milligrams. It stimulates blood flow by squeezing the blood vessels, which can, in some cases, help get someone's heart beating again.
But researchers worry there's a dangerous ripple effect: When you save someone's heart, you can hurt their brain. Studies suggest higher doses of epinephrine might actually cause neurological damage.
In Shire's case, he survived his episode of cardiac arrest and now leads a largely normal life. But the 67-year-old does have cognitive impacts such as short-term memory issues and some difficulty with complex tasks like driving. He's not sure how much of that is from his heart stopping — cutting off oxygen to his brain for the better part of 16 minutes — or the dose of epinephrine he was given.
Read more here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/adrenali ... -1.7137066
Thousands of patients will be part of six-year study that could change treatment guidelines for cardiac arrest
A team of Canadian researchers co-led by Dr. Steve Lin, the interim chief of emergency medicine at Unity Health Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, hopes to learn the right dose of epinephrine, also known as adrenalin, to give to patients experiencing cardiac arrest. Right now, data is limited, but the studies that do exist suggest higher doses can leave survivors with brain damage.
When Dan Shire's heart stopped beating in 2016, it led to a race against time to save his life.
Shire's wife heard him struggling to breathe in the middle of the night. Then she ran to the phone to call 911, started CPR, and waited minute-by-painful-minute for first responders to show up.
Once paramedics arrived at the couple's Pickering, Ont., home, they used a defibrillator on Shire four times, then tried a potent medication in an attempt to restart his heart.
That drug, epinephrine — also called adrenalin — is given intravenously every three to five minutes, up to an average of six milligrams. It stimulates blood flow by squeezing the blood vessels, which can, in some cases, help get someone's heart beating again.
But researchers worry there's a dangerous ripple effect: When you save someone's heart, you can hurt their brain. Studies suggest higher doses of epinephrine might actually cause neurological damage.
In Shire's case, he survived his episode of cardiac arrest and now leads a largely normal life. But the 67-year-old does have cognitive impacts such as short-term memory issues and some difficulty with complex tasks like driving. He's not sure how much of that is from his heart stopping — cutting off oxygen to his brain for the better part of 16 minutes — or the dose of epinephrine he was given.