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 (1).

To provide a comprehensive overview of research grant funding schemes, compare SCA research funding to the most prevalent causes of death, and analyse trends over time in Australia

Data from 2013-23 inclusive for National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and 2020-24 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$4673 per death) and renal failure ($5957 per death). Given that it is known that 23,400 fatal SCAs occur each year in Australia, if funding received was equivalent to funding for cancer (AUD$15449 per death), then this would represent annual funding of AUD$361.5 million for SCA research from the NHMRC, which would comprise 46.47% of the total NHMRC funding per year, an increase from current funding proportions by a factor of approximately 100. From the NHF, 341 relevant funded projects were identified across 14 broad themes. 15 applications (4.4%) related to SCA, with AUD$3,302,498.00 (4.3% of total funding) awarded. The majority of NHF SCA funding was allocated to pre-hospital care ($1.42 million, 43% of awarded funding), whereas the majority of NHMRC funding was allocated to prevention ($24.3 million, 60% of awarded funding). Over time, SCA funding increased for both NHMRC and NHF schemes (NHMRC: $2.32 million in 2013/14 vs $11.2 million in 2021/22, NHF: $331,600 in 2019/20 vs $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 risen over the last decade across Australian funding schemes, and this should be encouraged.

Annual SCA funding per death (NHMRC)