Title: Beyond Survival: Cognitive, Linguistic, and Quality-of-Life Outcomes in an Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patient

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Abstract

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) often results in hypoxic–ischemic brain injury with persistent neurocognitive sequelae that may not be fully captured by routine neuroimaging. We report a detailed neuropsychological and language profile of a 32-year-old Greek-speaking Cypriot male assessed six months after OHCA. A standardized, culturally appropriate battery with qualitative analysis assessed attention, processing speed, execu-tive functions, memory, language, and visuospatial abilities, alongside mood and quality of life. Findings showed a heterogeneous pattern, including severe impairments in verbal episodic memory and moderate-to-severe executive dysfunction, mild attentional ineffi-ciency, and relatively preserved visuospatial skills and nonverbal memory. Language per-formance was characterized by impaired lexical access and discourse/narrative organiza-tion, consistent with executive–linguistic interaction. The profile accords with selective vulnerability of frontal–subcortical and medial temporal systems to hypoxia. Pa-tient-reported outcomes indicated preserved emotional well-being and satisfactory quality of life. This case underscores the value of early cognitive-linguistic and psychosocial screening following OHCA and supports multidisciplinary follow-up assessment to iden-tify impairments affecting communication, activity, and participation. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed post-OHCA neuropsychological characterization of a Greek speak-ing Cypriot patient, highlighting the need for culturally and linguistically tailored assess-ment. This contributes data to an underrepresented population and suggests priority tar-gets for intervention.

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