Cardiac Arrest Rates up 20 Percent in Victoria, Survival Rates Fall

The Australian state of Victoria has recorded an alarming rise in the rate of sudden cardiac arrests and their mortality. In the past five years, the number of people affected has risen by 20 percent, and more than 95 percent are dying. Latest figures from Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) for 2022/23 show that, of 7,830 people whose hearts stopped beating, only 388 survived. The news is worse for those living in regional areas, who are 50 percent more likely to suffer an attack than Melburnians and more likely to die as a result. Data from the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) showing the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest per 100,000 persons. (VACAR) Regional areas accounted for nearly 2,800 of those incidents, where the rate of cardiac arrests had risen by 15 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic....