Quantitative Waveform Measures of the Electrocardiogram as Continuous Physiologic Feedback During Resuscitation with Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Background There are few if any real-time physiologic measures that currently provide feedback during resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Such measures could be used to guide therapy not simply based on process guidelines but on the physiologic response of the patient from moment to moment. To this end, we applied an existing technology – quantitative waveform measures (QWMs) of the ventricular fibrillation (VF) electrocardiogram (ECG) – as a continuous measure of myocardial response to reperfusion with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) after prolonged cardiac arrest.