Cooling increases survival rate
Using a treatment to effectively cool a patient's body temperature by 8 degrees Fahrenheit can greatly increase a patient's survival and brain function, according to a new study by the Minneapolis Heart Institute.
Dr. Shawn Evans says cooling blankets lower the body's temperature by 8 degrees in what is called "therapeutic hypothermia." A new study showed it greatly increased patient survival and brain function.
And even newer treatment inserts a catheter directly into a blood vessel to more precisely cool the patient's body.
Allen Fields' heart stopped beating while he was running the La Jolla half-marathon last year.
"It's extremely important, valuable. It obviously saved my life," Allen Fields said. "I was fortunate enough to have doctors in the race and doubly fortunate to be a little faster than they were because if they were in front of me, they would've never found me."
Doctors got Allen's heart beating again, and as treatment continued, the doctors cooled his body to prevent brain damage.
Evans hopes this new study prompts more hospitals to use these life and brain-saving treatments.
"That is one of the greatest advents in terms of our care and improving the chance of survival," Evans said.
- 0 Comment(s)
Your comment