Abstract

Genetic factors may influence outcome from cardiac arrest. In Seattle, WA, paramedics collected blood specimens from patients who had suffered cardiac arrest outside of a medical institution (out of hospital cardiac arrest). We examined associations between apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype and outcome in 134 who died “in the field”, 131 who died in the hospital, 198 patients who were discharged from hospital alive, and 64 control subjects. APOE genotype was not significantly related to outcome, including being alive at and being independent by 3 months after the arrest. Specifically, having one or two alleles of APOE ε4 or having APOE ε3/ε3 was not related to outcome, even after controlling for age, sex, race, and initial rhythm. We failed to confirm previous studies and found no significant associations between APOE genotype and outcome from out of hospital cardiac arrest.