About EpiDOSE

Cardiac Arrest is a life threatening event

Each year in Canada, there are over 30,000 people who collapse from cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, reducing blood flow to the brain and other vital organs.

This life threatening event is treated by paramedics with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillator shocks and drugs, including the routine use of epinephrine (adrenaline). Epinephrine can help reverse cardiac arrest by increasing blood flow to the heart and other organs. Paramedics in Canada give 1mg of epinephrine every 3 to 5 minutes which is the usual practice or ‘standard dose’. Although the standard dose of epinephrine can help restart the heart in the short-term, many patients do not survive due to irreversible brain injury and brain death.

Despite decades of use, there is limited proof that the standard dose of epinephrine is effective at improving long-term outcomes. There is some research to suggest that a lower dose of epinephrine may lead to better outcomes, but more studies are needed to determine this.