Mild Hypothermia for Cardiac Arrest

American Heart Association
Wednesday, 20 February 2002

Two studies in this week's New England Journal of Medicine (Feb. 21, 2002) find that individuals who were treated with mild therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest had fewer neurological complications than those individuals who did not get the cooling treatment.

Individuals who suffer cardiac arrest are treated with devices that restore heart rhythm, but there are often neurological complications due to the lack of blood flow to the brain. Researchers tested whether mild hypothermia administered shortly after cardiac arrest would reduce neurological complications.

In one study, 75 of 136 hypothermic patients had favorable outcomes as compared with 54 of 137 in the normothermic group.

In the second study, 21 of the 43 patients treated survived compared to nine of the 34 untreated.

According to Joseph Ornato, M.D., spokesperson for the American Heart Association, "these findings are very encouraging and offer news hope of improved survival and neurological recovery for cardiac arrest victims."

Cardiac arrest is often due to a chaotic heartbeat called ventricular fibrillation. This irregular heart rhythm causes the heart to stop beating suddenly. Brain death can occur in just four to six minutes. Cardiac arrest can be reversed with an electric shock to the heart. Each year about 250,000 people die of coronary heart disease without being hospitalized. Most of these deaths are sudden and caused by cardiac arrest.

For more information, or to contact American Heart Association, see their website at: www.americanheart.org