Central Denmark Ambulances Test New Cardiac Arrest Treatment Method

Emergency responders in Central Denmark can now measure blood pressure directly during chest compressions.

Seven emergency vehicles in the region are using the new medical procedure.

The system helps staff adjust compressions in real time during cardiac arrest.

Doctors insert a tiny catheter into a patient's artery to monitor blood pressure.

Hospitals already use this method in operating rooms and intensive care units.

Now, paramedics can monitor blood flow outside of the hospital.

Emergency doctor Jesper Fjølner developed the new project for prehospital care.

He noted that the method has already helped save lives in several cases.

Chief physician Allan Bach added that the procedure maintains high CPR quality.

The European Resuscitation Council recently recommended direct blood pressure monitoring.

Central Denmark is among the first regions in the world to adopt it.

About 5,000 people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Denmark each year.

Currently, about 15 percent of those patients survive. (Source: Copenhagen Post)