Vienna ECPR Center

The Department of Emergency Medicine has seen a steady increase in the number of patients requiring extracorporeal circulatory support (ECLS) with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). These are primarily patients with cardiac arrest or cardiogenic shock, whose heart or lung function must be temporarily replaced by artificial circulation provided by an ECMO machine.

The treatment of patients in cardiac arrest with ECMO is known as extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECRP). The ECPR intervention and care for ECPR patients requires a high level of expertise, communication and cooperation between an interdisciplinary and interprofessional team of emergency medicine, cardiac surgery, cardiology, radiology, neurology and intensive care medicine. This is supported by the certification of the Medical University of Vienna as a “Cardiac Arrest Center”, under the leadership of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

The Department of Emergency Medicine treats between 60 and 70 patients with refractory cardiac arrest annually using ECPR, making the “Vienna ECPR Center” one of the largest ECPR centers in Europe.

The Department of Emergency Medicine is also a registered member of the international Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). The ELSO is the leading professional organisation for education and training, the development of treatment guidelines, and research projects in the field of extracorporeal circulatory support. The organisation also manages the “ELSO Registry”, a comprehensive database on ECMO applications. This collaboration with ECMO centers around the world facilitates in-depth networking, an exchange of expertise, and benchmarking. An advantage that benefits our patients.

ELSO WEBSITE