Naloxone Can be Lifesaving for Some People With Cardiac Arrest Due to Overdose

Naloxone can help save the lives of some people who have cardiac arrest due to an opioid overdose, according to new research.

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. The majority of cases of cardiac arrest are due to heart attacks or electrical issues with the heart, but opioid overdose-related cardiac arrests are a major cause of death for adults 25 to 64 years old. According to the American Heart Association, more than 15% of opioid overdose cases treated by paramedics involve cardiac arrest, HealthDay reports.

Scientists at the University of California, Davis analyzed data on almost 8,200 patients treated for opioid-related cardiac arrest. They found one out of nine patients whose heart stopped due to an opioid overdose and were treated with naloxone had their heart spontaneously restart and blood circulation resume.

“Surprisingly, our findings showed that naloxone was associated with improved clinical outcomes in both drug-related cardiac arrests and non-drug related cardiac arrests,” researcher Dr. David Dillon said in a university news release. “This is important because it adds to our understanding about the effectiveness of naloxone for drug related out of hospital cardiac arrest.”