Cardiac arrest is a global public health crisis. In the U.S. alone, up to one million people suffer from and receive treatment for cardiac arrest each year. Of those cases, 90 percent—or 900,000 people—die as a result of their cardiac arrest, underscoring an urgent need to improve the way we treat cardiac arrest and save more lives.

We are looking for proactive, engaged members of the community to participate in focus groups to discuss potential new studies in development. An individual does not need to have experienced cardiac arrest to be a valuable part of our research.

Why You Should Participate in a Focus Group

Your participation in a focus group will ultimately enable future cardiac arrest research to take place. More cardiac arrest research may lead to advances in critical care and resuscitation science for future generations and potentially impact millions of lives for the better.

The Purpose of Our Focus Groups

Several of our studies involve new treatment protocols that may potentially improve the survival and recovery rates of people who suffer cardiac arrest. These new treatment protocols will be provided to patients at NYU Langone's Tisch Hospital who are either in cardiac arrest or remain unconscious after a cardiac arrest. Due to their condition, they will not have the opportunity to make an informed decision and give their consent to participate in a research study that might benefit them. Consent is the process in which a person is given information about an experimental treatment protocol and allowed to make a voluntary decision on whether or not they would like to receive it.

In order to move forward with these studies, our research team must first educate the community about further details and provide opportunities for community members to contact our team with questions or concerns. This period is known as the “community consultation” stage and is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for research involving emergency care situations.

We are currently holding focus groups to discuss our studies that are in the “community consultation” stage and provide opportunities for members of the community to voice their thoughts and opinions. The focus groups will discuss the following studies:

• giving red blood cell transfusions to restart the heart after cardiac arrest
• giving brain-protecting medications after cardiac arrest

Participate in a Focus Group

At a focus group, you will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the study team and voice any concerns that you may have.

If you are interested in participating in a focus group, please contact our study team at 646-501-6923 or email resuscitationlab@nyulangone.org.