Regions Hospital helps bring new, lifesaving CPR device to Saint Paul

FDA-approved ZOLL ResQCPR System increases the likelihood of survival from cardiac arrest.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — July 8, 2015 — Each year, approximately 300,000 people in the U.S. experience sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital, and unfortunately, the survival rate in most communities is less than 10 percent. In the Twin Cities, the odds for survival are among the nation’s highest, at 12.5 percent, and that might get better soon, as Saint Paul Fire will be among the first emergency medical service providers in the U.S. to adopt a new medical device shown to improve survival.

The ResQCPR™ System from ZOLL Medical Corporation was shown in a national research study to improve survival to one year from out-of-hospital non-traumatic cardiac arrest by 53 percent as compared to treatment with conventional CPR. Regions Hospital and Saint Paul Fire were both involved in the trial, which took place between 2005 and 2010. The Food and Drug Administration approved the ResQCPR System earlier this year.

RJ Frascone, MD, medical director of Regions Hospital Emergency Medical Services has been involved in the research and development of this new CPR device for more than 20 years. “It’s a great feeling to see something you’re so passionate about come to life,” Dr. Frascone says. “Saint Paul Fire’s adoption of the ResQCPR System will improve the odds of survival of cardiac arrest in our community.”

Region Hospital’s Emergency Medical Services team will spend July training first responders from Saint Paul Fire how to use the system. The goals is to have one in each emergency response vehicle by early August.

The ResQCPR System is a combination of two medical devices used together during CPR: the ResQPUMP^® ACD-CPR Device and the ResQPOD^® ITD 16. The ResQPOD is a device that fits over the equipment used to help people in cardiac arrest manage airflow coming into the chest and increase blood flow back to the heart. The ResQPump is a hand-held suction device that pulls the chest cavity toward the person performing CPR. Together, devices create an enhanced vacuum in the chest to improve blood flow to vital organs during states of low blood flow such as cardiac arrest.