Avalanche burials have a reported mortality rate of 52% and are responsible for approximately 150 deaths in North America and Europe per year. The primary causes of cardiac arrest after avalanche burial are asphyxia, trauma, and severe hypothermia. Current international guidelines recommend stopping cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in avalanche burial patients in the setting of asystole, signs of severe trauma, the airway is packed with snow, and burial time is greater than 35 minutes. The authors investigated whether cardiac arrest caused by isolated profound hypothermia resulted in a better survival or neurological outcome.
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A 2014 study studied this question.