There is a set series of events for a patient suffering cardiac arrest. The first step is recognition of what is happening. The second step is CPR to maintain oxygen flow to the body and minimize damage. The third step is defibrillation to restart the heart. The fourth step is vague. Sometimes there is a defect of the heart which causes the cardiac arrest which is then fixed with surgery. Other times medication may be able to stabilize the patient. The rest of the time, wishful thinking is administered liberally.
There is a new, or not so new, method that is far more successful than the “sit tight” method. This old method is gaining popularity in many hospitals. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study about patients resuscitated by ventricular defibrillation after cardiac arrest. Of the patients who underwent therapeutic hypothermia, 55% had a good outcome, as far as recovery and neurological function. Of those patients who did not undergo therapeutic hypothermia, 39% had a good outcome. This study was published in 2002, so why is this method only used in 300 of 6,000 major hospitals in the U.S.? The reason is that most hospitals are simply not equipped and are slow to change. So what can you do? Be aware of the hospitals in your area that use therapeutic hypothermia.
Click here to learn about cardiac arrest
Click here to learn about therapeutic hypothermia
Click here to see the study
Click here to see some involved cities