National Funding for Cardiac Arrest Research in Australia: An Analysis of Competitive Grant Schemes

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) affects 26,000 Australians each year, with an approximately 90% fatality rate.

Data from 2013 to 2023, inclusive for National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and 2020-2024 for National Heart Foundation (NHF) grant outcomes were obtained. Major causes of death were obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

From the NHMRC, 10,474 projects were assessed. Annual investment in research per death was low for SCA at AUD$887 compared to conditions such as breast cancer (AUD$4,673 per death) and renal failure (AUD$5,957 per death). From the NHF, 341 relevant funded projects were identified across 14 broad themes. Overall, 15 applications (4.4%) related to SCA, with AUD$3,302,498.00 (4.3% of total funding) awarded. Most NHF SCA funding was allocated to pre-hospital care (AUD$1.42 million, 43% of awarded funding), whereas most NHMRC funding was allocated to prevention (AUD$24.3 million, 60% of awarded funding). Over time, SCA funding increased for both NHMRC and NHF schemes (NHMRC: AUD$2.32 million in 2013/14 vs AUD$11.2 million in 2021/22, NHF: AUD$331,600 in 2019/20 vs AUD$1.2 million in 2023/24).

SCA is poorly captured as a leading cause of death in Australia. It is underfunded relative to other leading causes of mortality by up to a factor of 100. Investment in SCA research has increased over the last decade across Australian funding schemes, and this should be encouraged.