Increased Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Risk in Cancer: Evidence From 800,000 Patients and 3.7 Million Controls
Main finding · OHCAResult — go to the resultAdjusted hazard ratio 1.55 95% CI 1.50–1.60Authors' conclusion
Patients with cancer had a higher hazard of OHCA than cancer-free controls. Cancer site, time since diagnosis, and metastasis status were key factors associated with the hazard of OHCA. These findings may help inform tailored cardiovascular risk assessment, preventive strategies, shared decision-making, and end-of-life planning in oncology care.
Study context
- Population
- Adults (≥18 years) diagnosed with cancer from 2010 to 2022 and cancer-free controlsnearly 800,000 patients with cancer and 3,700,000 controls · patients with cancer nearly 800,000 · controls 3,700,000
- Exposure
- Cancer vs cancer-free controls
- patients with cancern = nearly 800,000
- controlsn = 3,700,000reference
Methodological detailsmatched 1:5 on age, sex, and region, 7 national registers, Cox proportional hazards models
- Matched 1:5 on age, sex, and region
- 7 national registers
- Cox proportional hazards models
Main finding
OHCA
Adjusted hazard ratio
1.55
95% CI 1.50–1.60
Patients with cancer vs controls
adjusted HR 1.55 (95% CI 1.50–1.60)
As reported in the abstract
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) by cancer site and time since diagnosis
- Lung and neurological cancers: greatest short-term hazards vs controls
- ≈6-fold higher
- Lung cancer and multiple myeloma: highest long-term excess hazards vs controls
- ≈2- to 3-fold higher
- Greatest excess hazards in lung, gastrointestinal, and neurological cancers
- Association strongest within the first year after cancer diagnosis, but remained increased throughout follow-up
Original publication
Increased Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Risk in Cancer: Evidence From 800,000 Patients and 3.7 Million Controls. JACC Adv. Published 5 October 2026. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it