ROCHESTER, Minn. – Mayo Clinic has installed a protocol for immediate application of ECMO treatment for heart and lung support in emergency rooms. ECMO is short for “extracorporeal membrane oxygenation,” Anuradha Luke, director of Mayo ambulances, said paramedics will alert the emergency room that an incoming patient is without a heartbeat. As soon as the patient arrives, the ECMO procure is ready. While the procedure is not new, Mayo hopes the earliest possible ECMO use will improve survival rates, Luke said. The survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is 10% nationally. At Mayo it’s 50% even without the new ECMO procedure, Luke said.
