REVIEW   Free access

Minerva Anestesiologica 2023 September;89(9):824-33

DOI: 10.23736/S0375-9393.23.17268-3

Copyright © 2023 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Cerebral hemodynamics after cardiac arrest: implications for clinical management

Tison SCHOENTHAL ¹, Ryan HOILAND ^{2, 3, 4, 5}, Donald E. GRIESDALE ^{1, 2, 6}, Mypinder S. SEKHON ^{1, 5, 7} ✉

¹ Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ² Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ³ Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ⁴ Center for Heart, Lung, and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Development, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada; ⁵ International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ⁶ Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ⁷ Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Following resuscitation from cardiac arrest, hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIBI) ensues, which is the primary determinant of adverse outcome. The pathophysiology of HIBI can be compartmentalized into primary and secondary injury, resulting from cerebral ischemia during cardiac arrest and reperfusion following successful resuscitation, respectively. During the secondary injury phase, increased attention has been directed towards the optimization of cerebral oxygen delivery to prevent additive injury to the brain. During this phase, cerebral hemodynamics are characterized by early hyperemia following resuscitation and then a protracted phase of cerebral hypoperfusion termed “no-reflow” during which additional hypoxic-ischemic injury can occur. As such, identification of therapeutic strategies to optimize cerebral delivery of oxygen is at the forefront of HIBI research. Unfortunately, randomized control trials investigating the manipulation of arterial carbon dioxide tension and mean arterial pressure augmentation as methods to potentially improve cerebral oxygen delivery have shown no impact on clinical outcomes. Emerging literature suggests differential patient-specific phenotypes may exist in patients with HIBI. The potential to personalize therapeutic strategies in the critical care setting based upon patient-specific pathophysiology presents an attractive strategy to improve HIBI outcomes. Herein, we review the cerebral hemodynamic pathophysiology of HIBI, discuss patient phenotypes as it pertains to personalizing care, as well as suggest future directions.

KEY WORDS: Brain ischemia; Heart arrest; Brain hypoxia; Arterial pressure