HEMS Debrief – Cardiac Arrest Focus. #7, Professor Jimmy Chien

Hello and welcome back to the Sydney HEMS debrief, focus on cardiac arrest.

This week, we are joined by a Sydney local – Prof Jimmy Chien, as we talk about PE in cardiac arrest.

Jimmy is a Senior Staff Specialist (Senior Consultant) in Respiratory Medicine, with a sub-speciality focus on pulmonary embolism. Jimmy has been fundamental in the creation of the PE emergency response team at his tertiary facility in Sydney, as well as in the roll-out of similar multi-disciplinary teams across Australia. On a daily basis, Jimmy and his team encounter the most challenging PE patients – those with intermediate or high risk PE, as well as those in arrest.

In this episode, Nat, Jimmy and I unpack how a PE causes an arrest, how to ascertain if a patient has arrested secondary to a massive PE, the therapies available to those patients who have arrested due to a known or suspected PE, and the role of mechanical support including ECMO. Too, we quiz Jimmy on where the literature is taking us to help manage this cohort of patients, as well as some of the emerging post-therapy care plans.

Jimmy is a wealth of knowledge, and we sure hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did recording it.