Treatment of adult, child and newborn cardiac arrest victims with COVID-19. Recommendations from the Interamerican Society of Cardiology / Sociedad Interamericana de Cardiología (SIAC), Mexican National Cardiologists Association / Asociación Nacional de Cardiólogos de México (ANCAM) and Mexican Society of Cardiology / Sociedad Mexicana de Cardiología (SMC)

Humberto Rodríguez-Reyes, Servicio de Electrofisiología, Sociedad Cardiovascular y Arritmias (SOCAYA), Aguascalientes; Arritmias y Mesa directiva, Sociedad Mexicana de Cardiología (SMC), Ciudad de México; Arritmias y Mesa directiva, Asociación Nacional de Cardiológos de México (ANCAM), Ciudad de México; México
Fernando Ortiz-Galván, Centro Universitario del Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco; Sociedad Mexicana de Cardiología; Asociación Nacional de Cardiólogos de México; Ciudad de México. México
Martín Ibarrola, Cardiovascular Center BV, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Manuel Celaya-Cota, Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital CIMA, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
Sergio Dubner, Servicio de Electrofisiología y Arritmias, Sanatorio clínica y maternidad de los Arcos, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Enrique Asensio-Lafuente, Servicio de Electrofisiología, Hospital H+, Querétaro. México
Elaine Núñez, Departamento de Cardiología, Centro de Diagnóstico Medicina Avanzada y Telemedicina (CEDIMAT), Santo Domingo, República Dominicana
Pablo Mendoza-Novoa, Unidad de arritmias y estimulación cardiaca. Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Perú
Luz M. Muñoz-Gutiérrez, Servicio de Electrofisiología, Sociedad Cardiovascular y Arritmias (SOCAYA), Aguascalientes, México
Georgia Sarquella-Brugada, Unidad de Arritmias Pediátricas, Cardiopatías Familiares y muerte Súbita, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, España
Iván Mendoza, Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidad Central, Caracas, Venezuela
Manlio F. Márquez, Departamento de Cardiología, Sociedad interamericana de Cardiología, Ciudad de México, México; Departamento de Cardiología, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Ciudad de México, México; Departamento de Cardiología, Consejo Interamericano de Electrocardiográfica y Arritmias, Ciudad de México. México

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a large impact on the general population, but it has taken a specially high toll on healthcare personnel. Resuscitation efforts require potential modifications of the present Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) international guidelines because of the transmissibility rate of the new SARS-CoV 2 virus. It has been seen that up to 15% of COVID-19 patients have a severe disease, 5% have a critical form of infection and the mean death rate is 3%, although there are significant differences according to the country that reports it and patients’ baseline conditions that include age, presence of arterial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity. In these high risk subjects, mortality might go up to 24%. There are also reports of a recent increase in out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCA) victims. Cardiac arrest (CA) in these subjects might be related to many causes, but apparently, that phenomenon is related to respiratory diseases rather than cardiac issues. In this context, the decision to start or continue CPR maneuvers has to be carefully assessed, because of the low survival rate reported so far and the high contagion risk among healthcare personnel.

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Cardiac arrest. COVID-19. Coronavirus. Health personnel. Recommendations