Post Cardiac Arrest Service

[reber247]

I'm an ER tech (Starting PA school in August) at a large academic hospital where there is a Post Cardiac Arrest Service (PCAS) that receives post arrest transfers to the ER then ultimately ending up in the CCU. I met a PA who is starting on this service in the next couple months where I think he will split his time between the ICU coverage he does now and PCAS consults/research. He told me he will be the first PA that PCAS has had on and the position was sort of "created for him" through his prior work with the PCAS docs. Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of positions like this? I'm assuming this isn't too common but nonetheless is very interesting to me and something I hope to keep in mind as I think about specialties going through school. 

[MediMike]

I would guess that only arrests due to coronary occlusion, HF, channelopathy etc would be going to that service if they end up in the CCU.

I work both academic CCU and private MICU so it's always a nail biter when you see the arrest role in. Etiology often determines where they end up.

Sounds like a fun service though, chance to be involved in resuscitation and post arrest research would be a blast.

[reber247]

MediMike- You're right. Post arrests end up on any ICU and I just said CCU since that's where I've seen most go. Thanks for the correction. 

[MediMike]

What kind of volume do you guys see arrest wise? The more I think about it the more fun this sounds...

[reber247]

MediMike- I talked with one of the EM Docs who started the program about 12 years ago. He said they get around 300 post arrests/year. That includes scene runs and flight transfers from outside hospitals. This hospital is the "mother ship" of a large network where these patients get transferred in from, so it's a pretty good set up. He told me that in the future he would like to see PCAS become more popular across the country, but it doesn't seem to be there yet.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

I'd have been out of work in such a setting.  In my 10+ years in the ED I never had ONE long-term survival, nor did I ever attend one on the floor during my cardiology days (late 80's through mid-00's).  The only survivors were intra-cath/PTCA cases where CPR was started immediately and we'd wheel them across the hall into the CVS suite for bypass pump and subsequent CABG.  Never lost a one of those.

[MediMike]

Geeze! That's a lotta arrests. Also a lot of neuroprognostication. Sounds like a sweet gig!

[Joehall]

Dr Lim is an expert in Atrial Fibrillation and arrhythmias, and often lectures to patients and other physicians to educate and guide them to improve their understanding and treatment of arrhythmias. In particular, he is skilled at various state-of-the-art catheter ablation techniques, working closely with industry partners to develop novel technologies which can advance treatment and improve outcomes for patients. He treats patients with all heart rhythm disorders, including atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), and atrial and ventricular ectopy, which can cause palpitations.