American Heart Association Funds New Research Teams to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival and Recovery

The American Heart Association announced a $3.4 million grant initiative to fund two multidisciplinary research teams focused on advancing scientific understanding of cardiac arrest. These teams will form part of the newly established Cardiac Arrest Research Team (CART) Network, a collaboration between the American Heart Association and Heart & Stroke™, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The network aims to accelerate scientific discoveries and translate findings into clinical practice to improve survival rates and outcomes for cardiac arrest patients.

More than 600,000 cardiac arrests occur annually in the United States, with low survival rates both in and out of hospital settings, according to the American Heart Association. The grants target two key areas: optimizing defibrillation and post-arrest care, and improving blood pressure management after cardiac arrest to protect brain and organ function.

One team, led by Joshua Lupton, M.D., M.P.H., M.Phil., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and a cardiac arrest survivor, will focus on improving care from emergency treatment through recovery. The study will examine defibrillator pad placement to determine if one position helps restart the heart faster. Researchers will also use artificial intelligence to analyze timing intervals between shocks, using data from emergency heart monitors. Additionally, the team will work with survivors and families to identify best practices for peer-support programs and resources. Collaborators include Mohamud Daya, M.D., M.S., Matthew Neth, M.D., from OHSU, and Ankur A. Doshi, M.D., FAHA, from the University of Pittsburgh.

The second team, led by Ari Moskowitz, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, an associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York, will compare two commonly used blood pressure medicines after cardiac arrest to determine which improves survival and recovery. The study will investigate how these medications are used across different hospital settings and among clinicians, aiming to standardize effective treatments. The team includes Sachin Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, from Columbia University, Katherine Berg, M.D., from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Stephanie DeMasi, M.D., from Vanderbilt University, and Nicholas Johnson, M.D., FAHA, from the University of Washington.

Both teams will collaborate with Canadian scientists and incorporate insights from survivors, family members, and those who lost loved ones to cardiac arrest. Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association, emphasized the importance of seconds in life-saving treatment and noted the initiative's alignment with the Association's Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2030 Impact Goals to double cardiac arrest survival rates within five years. The four-year research grants begin on July 1, 2026.

The American Heart Association has funded over $6.1 billion in cardiovascular research since 1949, making it the largest non-profit supporter of heart and brain health research in the U.S. A recent Annenberg Policy Center poll found that more than 8 in 10 U.S. adults trust the Association for reliable public health information.