Heart Patients On Ice
January 15, 2007 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
No, I don’t mean heart patients on ice skates whizzing around a rink. I’m referring to therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest in which patients’ body temperatures are lowered to between 28°C to 32°C (normal body temperature is 37°C). It’s believed that cooling patients after they suffer a cardiac arrest helps to improve recovery and reduce the risk of brain damage. Mild hypothermia helps by:
- Reducing the brain’s need for oxygen
- Reducing normal electrical activity
- Supressing chemical reactions associated with reperfusion injury (the influx of blood surging through the body after the patient’s heart has been restarted)
There are risks to lowering a person’s body temperature including arrhythmias, infection, and symptoms related to thickening of the blood but some major hospitals are trying therapeutic hypothermia after seeing its successfully used in Europe.
Andy Nelson was featured in the Orlando Sentinel after he was treated with therapeutic hypothermia. He had suffered cardiac arrest while mowing the lawn and was close to death.
Nelson, who had slipped into a coma, was wrapped in high-tech cooling pads and his body temperature lowered for 24 hours.
Doctors say the therapy — which is just gaining wider use in Central Florida — puts the body’s systems into slow motion, allowing the brain to recuperate from the aftermath of cardiac arrest.
…Nelson’s story has a happy ending.
He came out of his coma about nine days after his body temperature gradually was raised back to normal. After returning to work as a respiratory therapist two months later, he now walks up to five miles a day. Aside from slight hearing loss, he feels no lingering effects from his cardiac arrest.
Learn more about therapeutic hypothermia as treatment for cardiac arrest.
Tags: ice, cold, therapeutic hypothermia, hypothermia, cardiac arrest, heart, heart disease, diseases, illness, health, andy nelson
