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World J Cardiol. Mar 26, 2024; 16(3): 126-136
Published online Mar 26, 2024. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i3.126
Cardiac arrest, stony heart, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation: An updated revisit
Ayman El-Menyar, Bianca M Wahlen
Ayman El-Menyar, Department of Trauma and Vascular Surgery, Clinical Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
Ayman El-Menyar, Department of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha 24144, Qatar
Bianca M Wahlen, Department of Anesthesiology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
Author contributions: El-Menyar A designed the review, performed the search and methods, and wrote and revised the manuscript; Wahlen B performed the search and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ayman El-Menyar, MBChB, MSc, FACC, FESC, Professor, Director, Senior Scientist, Department of Trauma and Vascular Surgery, Clinical Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Al-Rayyan Street, Doha 3050, Qatar. aymanco65@yahoo.com
Received: December 28, 2023
Peer-review started: December 28, 2023
First decision: January 17, 2024
Revised: January 17, 2024
Accepted: February 26, 2024
Article in press: February 26, 2024
Published online: March 26, 2024
Processing time: 83 Days and 20.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Despite the advances in emergency and critical care management, the outcomes post-cardiac arrest (in-hospital or out-of-hospital) remain challenging. Post-cardiac arrest myocardial dysfunction and circulatory failure are the main predictors of cardiopulmonary resuscitation outcomes. The pattern, management, and outcome of these predictors differ between subjects based on many factors. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of these two predictors is of utmost importance to achieve better post-cardiac arrest outcomes. Although restoring spontaneous circulation is a vital sign, it should not be the end of the game or lone primary outcome; it calls for aggressive multi-disciplinary interventions and care.