Exercise‐Related Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest Among the General Population in the Era of Public‐Access Defibrillation: A Population‐Based Observation in Japan

BACKGROUND Exercise can trigger sudden cardiac arrest. Early initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator use by laypersons could maximize the survival rate following exercise-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). METHODS AND RESULTS OHCA data between 2005 and 2012 were obtained from a prospective population-based OHCA registry in Osaka Prefecture. Patients with OHCA of presumed cardiac origin and occurring before emergency medical service personnel arrival were included. The incidence trends of exercise-related OHCA over the 8-year study period were assessed. Among patients with bystander-witnessed, exercise-related OHCA, the trends in the initiation of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, public-access defibrillation, and outcome were evaluated. The primary outcome was 1-month survival with favorable neurological outcome, defined as cerebral performance category 1 or 2. During the study period, 0.7% of OHCAs of cardiac origin (222/31 030) were exercise related. The incidence of exercise-related OHCA increased from 1.8 (per million population per year) in 2005 to 4.3 in 2012. Of these, 83.8% (186/222) were witnessed by bystanders. Among the patients with bystander-witnessed, exercise-related OHCA, the proportion that received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (50.0% in 2005 and 86.2% in 2012) and public-access defibrillation (7.1% in 2005 and 62.1% in 2012) significantly increased during the study period. Furthermore, the rate of 1-month survival with favorable neurological outcome among these patients significantly improved (from 28.6% in 2005 to 58.6% in 2012). CONCLUSIONS The incidence rate of exercise-related OHCA was low in the study population. The increase in bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and public-access defibrillation rates were associated with improved outcome among patients with bystander-witnessed, exercise-related OHCA.