Treatment of Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias Refractory To Shock With Beta Blockers: The SHOCK and BLOCK Trial

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effectiveness of metoprolol, a "beta blocker," in treating patients in the hospital with a cardiac arrest. It will be given intravenously (given into a vein). The subjects who will take part in this study are 18 years of age or older, are experiencing a cardiac arrest in the hospital, and are in a life threatening situation. Patients who develop a cardiac arrest require prompt electrical defibrillation (electrical shocks) to restore the normal beating rhythm of the heart. In patients who do not respond to electrical defibrillation, current standard of care recommends the use of medications which have been shown to be of unknown benefit. Some people recover from a cardiac arrest, but many people do not. We want to learn whether giving metoprolol will improve survival of patients with a cardiac arrest. A total of 100 patients will be enrolled in the study. Patients will receive either the standard of care with the drug epinephrine or the standard of care plus metoprolol.