Q & A with Dr Ziad Nehme

Every minute counts: a strategy to strengthen the links in the Chain of Survival

Dr Ziad Nehme, Monash University

2021 Future Leader Fellowship

Years funded: 2022-2025

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is the ultimate medical emergency. For every minute that passes without life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), survival from OHCA falls by 10%. The ‘Chain of Survival’ represents a sequence of interventions recognised globally as a strategy to improve OHCA outcomes. Shaped by the knowledge gaps identified by international experts, this research program aims to improve OHCA outcomes through the development of world-first evidence-based treatments that optimise the links in the Chain of Survival.

The objectives of Dr Ziad Nehme's project is to:

1. Increase community awareness and action in response to warning symptoms;
2. Optimise the identification of OHCA in the emergency call and reduce delays to bystander CPR;
3. Test novel interventions to increase rates of successful defibrillation, and
4. Improve the evidence-base in post-resuscitation care.

Given the high incidence of OHCA in Australia, small improvements in care can have enormous benefits. Just a 1% increase in survival would save the lives of an additional 300 Australians.