Ten Years in Cardiac Arrest and Neurocritical Care Survivorship

Presented by Dr. Alexandar Presciutti, Clinical Health Psychologist and Professor at the Brain Injury Research Center of Mount Sinai Over the last decade the long-term challenges associated with surviving critical illness have become increasingly recognized, and, as a result, post-ICU clinics are popping up around the world. In this Grand Rounds, Dr. Presciutti provides an overview of the contributions that he and his colleagues have made in this space, which started at CUIMC ten years ago. Using their work in cardiac arrest and neurocritical care as a case example, he describes their progression from defining multi-domain survivorship challenges, to characterizing the downstream impacts on health and quality of life, up through their current work developing interventions for both survivors and their caregivers. Alexander Presciutti, PhD is a clinical health psychologist and Associate Professor at the Brain Injury Research Center of Mount Sinai. His research has elucidated challenges faced by critical care survivors and their caregivers, and their downstream impacts on long-term health and quality of life. He is currently funded by the NIH to test survivorship interventions among cardiac arrest survivors and their caregivers, and caregivers of patients with severe acute brain injury. Dr. Presciutti holds several national leadership roles, including as Chair of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Emergency Cardiovascular Care, Systems of Care Survivorship Committee, as the Survivorship Chapter Lead of the AHA's 2025 Guidelines for Post-Cardiac Arrest Care, and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. In January 2023, Dr. Presciutti co-launched the Cardiac Arrest Survivor Alliance, which is currently the largest US-based online peer support community for all those impacted by cardiac arrest. Later that year, he was inducted into the Citizen CPR Foundation's "Top 40 Under 40" class in recognition of his work in cardiac arrest survivorship. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Presciutti was an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Staff Psychologist in the Center for Health Outcomes and Interdisciplinary Research (CHOIR) at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he co-led a resilience program for patients admitted to the Neuro-ICU and their caregivers and directed to the CHOIR Advanced Practicum Training Program.