Using a minimally invasive balloon procedure to temporarily block the body's largest artery may help improve blood flow to the heart and brain during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium 2026.
The study, led by James Price, M.B.B.S., a consultant emergency physician at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, involved 39 patients in England who experienced cardiac arrest outside the hospital and did not respond to standard advanced cardiac life support. The technique, called Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA), involves inserting a small balloon through an artery in the groin and inflating it in the upper part of the aorta to redirect blood to the heart and brain.
During CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), only a fraction of normal blood flow reaches vital organs. The study found that after REBOA, aortic diastolic blood pressure increased by 62%, systolic blood pressure rose by 20%, and carbon dioxide in exhaled breath increased by 50%—all key indicators of improved circulation. The procedure was successfully performed in 33 of 36 patients, with a median time of 51 minutes from cardiac arrest to balloon inflation.
"Taken together, these findings suggest that aortic occlusion was redirecting blood flow towards the heart and brain as intended," Price said. "What surprised us most was the size of the physiological response despite the relatively late stage at which REBOA was performed."
While the study was not designed to assess survival, 8 of 33 patients with confirmed occlusion regained a sustained return of spontaneous circulation, and 2 survived to hospital discharge with good neurological outcomes. In a subgroup of patients with witnessed cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation who received REBOA earlier, 4 out of 5 regained circulation, and 2 survived with good neurological outcomes.
The findings are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. The research was presented at the Resuscitation Science Symposium 2026, which features advances in treating cardiopulmonary arrest and traumatic injury. The abstract is available via the Link to abstract, and the conference's Online Program Planner provides more details.
If future research confirms these results and the technique can be delivered earlier and more widely—potentially by training advanced critical care paramedics—it could increase the chances of restarting the heart and saving more lives. Currently, survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is about 1 in 10, and treatment options have not meaningfully improved in 50 years.
"This study is an important first step, but it is not yet proof that REBOA saves lives," Price said. "Future research should also explore strategies for delivering the procedure earlier in resuscitation, potentially by expanding its use to specially trained non-physician emergency responders."
For more information on cardiac arrest recovery, see Recovering from a Cardiac Arrest, and to learn CPR, visit Join the Nation of Lifesavers by learning CPR. The American Heart Association also offers Updated CPR guidelines tackle choking response, opioid-related emergencies and a revised Chain of Survival.
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