New hope for cardiac arrest patients with UK-first procedure launched on streets of London

London’s Air Ambulance has launched a first-of-its-kind response team in the UK to deliver advanced cardiac care before hospital arrival.

The London Endovascular Cardiac Arrest Team (ECAT), developed in partnership with London Ambulance Service and Barts Health NHS Trust, brings extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) capability directly to the scene of medical cardiac arrests. Dispatched by helicopter or fast response car, the team aims to bridge the gap between standard resuscitation and specialist in-hospital care.

ECMO is a life support technique that temporarily takes over heart and lung function by circulating oxygenated blood outside the body. It can offer critical time for patients who do not respond to CPR or defibrillation, giving them a better chance of survival and neurological recovery.

Patients eligible for ECMO support will be transported via the established ECPR (Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) pathway to one of four specialist centres: Barts Heart Centre, King’s College Hospital, Harefield Hospital or St Thomas’ Hospital.

Across London in 2023, 252 people aged 15–64 died after presenting in Ventricular Fibrillation and receiving conventional treatment. With ECAT in place, the aim is to reduce time to ECMO and improve outcomes – an approach that has shown promising results elsewhere, such as in Minnesota, where similar models have achieved over 40% good neurological survival.

The project has been made possible through a partnership between London’s Air Ambulance Charity, LAS and Barts Health NHS Trust, with support from Barts Charity, The Cranbrook Foundation, Getinge, and the Geoff & Fiona Squire Foundation.

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