Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is a devastating illness that occurs after cardiac arrest (the heart stopping) and can yield irreversible brain damage, often leading to death. HIBI occurs from inadequate delivery of oxygen to the brain during cardiac arrest and in the hours and days following resuscitation. The mainstay in therapy is to optimize the delivery of oxygen to the brain to help it recover. In patients with traumatic brain injury (similar to HIBI), optimization of oxygen delivery to the brain is associated with improved outcomes. Regrettably, the benefit of this therapeutic strategy is not well delineated in HIBI. Crucial determinants of oxygen delivery to the brain including blood pressure, blood carbon dioxide levels, hemoglobin (blood's carrier of oxygen) and intracranial pressure (the pressure exerted by the brain inside the skull) are key determinants of brain oxygen delivery. We are aiming to delineate the roles of each of the aforementioned variables in how they effect brain oxygen delivery in human patients with HIBI after cardiac arrest. By doing so, we hope the findings will lead to crucial therapeutic studies in the future aimed at optimizing oxygen delivery in HIBI patients.