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What if you could save a life by subjecting someone to
something that would normally cause a slow, painful death? Today, doctors are
doing just that. Therapeutic hypothermia (induced hypothermia) is the intentional
lowering of a patient's body temperature to a level below that which is required
for proper metabolic functioning. So why are neurosurgeons and cardiologists
using this chilly technique? Medical research indicates that therapeutic
hypothermia can reduce brain damage and increase survivability after cardiac
arrest.
Placing a patient in hypothermia slows down their heartbeat
and delivers blood and oxygen to vital organs at a slower blood-flow rate. After
cardiac arrest, doctors must restore cerebral circulation – but not too quickly.
By reducing the body's metabolic activity, therapeutic hypothermia can
minimize the chance of reperfusion injury, damage to tissue that can occur when
the blood supply is restored too rapidly. Although wrapping a heart-attack
patient in a blanket is a standard practice, warming the body could possibly
worsen the effects of cardiac arrest on the brain.
Induced hypothermia lowers a patient's body temperate slowly
and predictably, to around 91º F. That's almost 8º F less than the human body's
normal temperature! Of course, special techniques must be followed. For
example, a patient must be given a sedative to reduce shivering, a natural
reaction to cold. Therapeutic hypothermia isn't a panacea, however. Infections
and internal bleeding can still occur, but they are usually easier to correct
than brain damage.
Although some doctors are reluctant to use therapeutic
hypothermia, more hospitals and emergency rescue services are willing to give
it a try after watching the survival numbers soar. Clifton Callaway, part of
the Safar Center
for Resuscitation Research at the University
of Pittsburgh, says
doctors should induce hypothermia whenever a heart-attack patient with a pulse
arrives at an emergency room. In this way, doctors can know that a death from
cardiac arrest is "not because of something we neglected to do."
"Sometimes, Callaway explains, "nature just holds all the
cards. "But you don't want for it to be that you left cards on the
table." So let's hold our cards and cheat death however we can. The
jackpot you hit could save a life.
Resources:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-12-10-body-cooling-cover_x.htm
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3013397
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/108/1/118
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Re: Cheating Death: Therapeutic Hypothermia
