When 43-year-old Melbourne dad Mark Wohlers suffered a cardiac arrest last year, it was the swift emergency response and an Australian-first clinical trial that gave him a second chance at life.
The Alfred and Ambulance Victoria-led trial saw Mark placed on an advanced form of life support at the roadside – a technique commonly only offered in specialist hospitals – to take over the function of his heart and lungs.
Trial co-lead and intensive care specialist Dr Sacha Richardson said his team had been using ECMO (Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) for years in the hospital, but technological advancement meant the machines were now small enough to take to the streets.
Under the trial, two experienced ECMO-trained Alfred intensive care specialists travel with paramedics to a patient identified as a potential candidate.
“In Mark’s case, the intervention was lifesaving. We were able to attend the scene, insert the ECMO to bypass his heart, and get him to The Alfred where his coronary artery was unblocked, and his heart was restarted.
“We are hopeful our current trial – and possible further and larger trials – will show the practice is feasible, and that it can significantly increase the chances of survival after cardiac arrest in the community.”
