Seeking to learn more about cardiac arrest in the hospital environment
Every year, approximately 2,500 patients in Sweden suffer a cardiac arrest at a hospital, from which only one in every three survive. Therese Djärv wants to unpack why these events occur and how they can be prevented. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 9 October.
Text: Karin Tideström, for KI’s installation ceremony booklet 2025
What are you researching?
“I want to understand why patients’ hearts sometimes suddenly stop beating – in the middle of our most advanced hospital environments where modern technology and skilled personnel are close at hand. I’m researching why these cardiac arrests occur, how risks can be discovered in time, and how medical professionals act and make decisions in emergency situations. In so doing, I hope to save more lives and improve the lives of patients post-cardiac arrest.”
Why is this so important?
“Some 2,500 patients in Sweden suffer a cardiac arrest in hospital every year, and only one in three of them survive. Even though about one third of all cardiac arrests occur in a hospital, less than five percent of research in the field has focused on such events in the hospital environment. We need to know more in order to make better decisions. It’s not only medically important, it’s also our ethical responsibility.”
How are you going about this?
“We’re analysing how and why cardiac arrests occur and what can be done differently. We know that many cardiac arrests in hospitals are probably wholly avoidable, and at present I’m leading a global initiative in which over 40 countries have joined together to introduce a ten-step programme designed to lower the rate of cardiac arrests in hospitals.”
What are your main findings to date?
“One thing we’ve found is that cardiac arrest in hospitals is a greater problem than previously thought. We’ve also identified important factors that elevate the risk, and shown how early intervention can save lives. Our research has also increased the understanding of how medical professionals handle difficult decisions. Our results are already being put to clinical use and are the basis of new guidance in Sweden and around the world.”
About Therese Djärv
Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Department of Medicine, Solna
Therese Djärv was born in 1977 in Tornedalen. She graduated in medicine at Karolinska Institutet in 2007, becoming a specialist in internal medicine in 2014 and emergency medicine in 2015. At the same time, she was pursuing her doctoral studies, and took her PhD from Karolinska Institutet in 2010. She became docent in 2016. Since 2017 has headed the clinical medicine division at the Department of Medicine in Solna. In 2021 she was made adjunct professor of emergency medicine and since 2024 she has been leading a global initiative for improving care for hospital associated cardiac arrests via the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). Therese Djärv was appointed Professor at Karolinska Institutet on 1 November 2024.