UBC Faculty of Medicine researchers Drs. Brian Grunau and Mypinder Sekhon are among the recipients of the Cardiac Arrest Research Team Grants which will address the most urgent challenges in cardiac arrest prediction, care and recovery.
The awards were recently announced by Heart & Stroke, in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Brain Canada.
Dr. Brian Grunau
The research team led by Dr. Grunau, an assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine, will focus on improving prediction and early detection of cardiac arrest.
Dr. Sekhon, a clinical associate professor in the department of medicine’s division of critical care, will lead a team to advance work on optimizing brain recovery after cardiac arrest.
Both areas of investigation are critical to saving more lives and improving quality of life for cardiac arrest survivors and their families. The national teams will bring together researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience and community partners to advance innovative, evidence-based approaches across the full cardiac arrest journey—from prevention and early detection to long-term recovery.
Dr. Mypinder Sekhon
“We are proud to support research that brings together multidisciplinary teams to address cardiac arrest across the full care continuum, from prevention to recovery,” says Dr. Ariane Marelli, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health. “By working across areas of expertise, these teams are advancing more integrated and coordinated approaches to prediction, detection, care, survival and recovery to support better outcomes for people in Canada.”
Each year, approximately 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in Canada, and only one in 10 people survive. Fast action is critical, as survival decreases every minute without CPR or defibrillation. Improving understanding of rehabilitation and recovery will help improve outcomes for those who experience cardiac arrest.
Despite progress in cardiac arrest care, important gaps remain, including uneven access to care, limited data and insufficient support for survivors and families. This funding opportunity is designed to close those gaps by advancing research and translating evidence into practice. The research teams will also liaise with the American Heart Association’s Cardiac Arrest Research Team (CART) Network to foster cross-border collaboration and amplify the impact of research through coordinated efforts.
A version of this story originally appeared on the Heart & Stroke website.