The American Heart Association announced grants totaling $3.4 million to support two multidisciplinary research teams focused on cardiac arrest, a condition that affects more than 600,000 people annually in the U.S. with low survival rates both in and out of hospitals. The new initiative, part of the Cardiac Arrest Research Team (CART) Network, is a collaboration between the American Heart Association and Heart & Stroke™, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, aiming to accelerate scientific discoveries and improve outcomes.
The first team, led by Joshua Lupton, M.D., M.P.H., M.Phil., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and a cardiac arrest survivor himself, will focus on "Accelerating Successful Defibrillation and Survivor Recovery for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest." The team will investigate defibrillator pad placement to determine if one position helps restart the heart faster, a change that costs nothing and requires little training. They will also use artificial intelligence to analyze timing between shocks using data from emergency heart monitors. Additionally, the team will work with survivors and families to identify best practices for support and resources, including peer-support programs, and build a shared research network among hospitals, emergency responders, scientists, and survivors.
The second team, "Vasopressor Strategy in Cardiac Arrest to Optimize Recovery-Cardiac Arrest Research Team (VICTORY-CART)," will be led by Ari Moskowitz, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, an associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York. This team will compare two commonly used blood pressure medicines after cardiac arrest to determine which leads to better survival and recovery. They will examine how these medicines are currently used across different hospital settings and aim to identify ways to ensure more consistent and effective treatment. The study will establish a learning health system framework to generate real-world evidence that can rapidly inform post–cardiac arrest care.
Both teams will collaborate with Canadian scientists and incorporate input from people with lived experience, including survivors, family members, and those who have lost loved ones. "Cardiac arrest is a profound and tragic occurrence and we know seconds matter in making sure people get the right life-saving treatment at the right time," said Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association. "Funding research to better understand cardiac arrest is a key component of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2030 Impact Goals as we strive to double the survival rate from cardiac arrest within the next five years."
The four-year research grants begin on July 1, 2026. The American Heart Association has funded more than $6.1 billion in cardiovascular research since 1949, making it the largest non-profit supporter of heart and brain health research in the U.S. According to a recent Annenberg Policy Center poll, more than 8 in 10 U.S. adults (82%) express confidence in the American Heart Association to provide trustworthy public health information.
