Wake County cardiac arrest survival rates among highest in count - WNCN: News, Weather

People who go into cardiac arrest in Wake County may have among the best chances of survival in the country.

Dr. Brent Myers, the Wake EMS director, said the survival rate is nearly 42 percent in Wake County. That’s compared to 7.7 percent in Alabama, which is among the lowest rates, and nearly 40 percent in Seattle, which is one of the best, according to information Myers provided to NBC-17.

The agency’s leaders began studying the response to cardiac arrests in 2005. Since then, the agency has made changes that Myers said saved 57 people experiencing cardiac arrest in 2010.

Spencer Shell, 21, a student at North Carolina State University, was among those.

“Essentially, I had a cardiac arrest, fell over dead,” he said.

Shell was jogging on campus Sept. 2 when it happened. Students rushed to his rescue and EMS arrived minutes later.

"They induced hypothermia on me on the scene after shocking me twice with the defibrillator. I woke up a week later after being on life support for an entire week,” he said.

Wake EMS cools people in cardiac arrest down to 89 degrees. The cooler body temperature is then maintained at the hospital for 24 hours.

"That was very instrumental in preserving my vital organs as far as brain activity, liver function, kidney - it preserved all my organs,” Shell said.

The cool down is one of three procedures Wake EMS does that has led to one of the highest cardiac arrest survival rates in the country.

Responders have also stopped counting compressions when giving CPR.

"We know that normally the heart doesn't stop beating when you breathe, so we just took that same physiology and applied it to patients in the street. So we don't count compressions, we just push in an uninterrupted manner,” Myers said.

 Also, EMS workers no longer move patients who are experiencing cardiac arrest.

"Moving patients in cardiac arrest takes your compression effectiveness and makes it less. So we work the cardiac arrest where we find it,” Myers said.

As a result of the changes, Myers said the odds of survival are four-fold higher than they were a few years ago.

"What that means for people in our community is that we save an additional three lives per 100,000 population per year. So now, as Wake County almost approaches a million people, that's an additional 30 lives or almost an additional 30 lives per year based on the interventions,” he said.

Shell has learned some lessons of his own through his experience.

"Go out there and play in the sunshine and enjoy life. That's what I've learned,” he said.

In March, he skied in Alaska and climbed a glacier.

“(I’m) still living the adventurous life I was living before. Continue to push the envelope,” he said.

Shell is the speaker Wednesday at a ceremony recognizing cardiac arrest survivors in Wake County.

Myers said there are things people can do to help someone experiencing cardiac arrest until an EMS crew arrives.

He said if someone does CPR before EMS arrives, it doubles the odds of survival. Myers urges people to take a CPR course. It’s a simpler process than it used to be and people can learn in half an hour, he said. Also, 911 operators can walk people though the process on the phone.