الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Cardiac arrest (CA) is a sudden loss of blood flow to body organs resulting from cessation of cardiac mechanical activity in a person who may or may not have a diagnosed heart disease. If not treated promptly, it usually leads to death. Symptoms include loss of consciousness and abnormal or absent breathing.
In Europe, Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest affects about 350,000-700,000 individuals a year while the reported incidence of in-hospital cardiac arrest is in the range of 1-5 per 1000 admissions.
Cardiac arrest is an extreme medical emergency and prognosis is generally poor with less than 5% survival rate for those who have out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Published survival rates from in-hospital cardiac arrest vary substantially and range from 13-59 % at 24 hour and 3-27 % to hospital discharge, with a median survival to discharge of about 15 %.
The decision to terminate resuscitation in the setting of cardiac arrest is a difficult one and is based on several factors. Both the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council have published guidelines to assist the clinician with the decision to cease resuscitative efforts, but many of the criteria described are judgment based. Even with such guidance, the emergency physician is often unsure of when to stop resuscitative efforts.
An accurate method of predicting certain death in the ED would be beneficial in the decision making in cardiac arrest patients. Resources could be diverted elsewhere and a great deal of effort could potentially be saved. But, the mechanism used to predict no chance for survival should be accurate and highly reproducible. As bedside ultrasonography becomes more widespread in EDs, it is now possible to use real-time cardiac imaging during cardiac arrest.