Therapy Used at St. Alexius Medical Center for the First Time
Posted on 8/21/2007
Therapeutic Hypothermia is a widely under-used, proven therapy. It works by cooling down the body’s temperature to around 88 degrees. This allows the body to get by with less oxygen by decreasing the metabolic demand. This type of therapy is the standard of care in a few cities across the nation, but is unavailable in most. This was the first time doctors at St. Alexius Medical Center used therapeutic hypothermia.
The therapy was used on a 44-year old man who suffered a heart attack. At the scene, outside of the hospital, paramedics shocked the patient. Although his heart came back to a normal rhythm, he was in a coma. Upon arrival to the Intensive Care Unit at St. Alexius Medical Center, doctors initiated a controlled cooling down to 88 degrees. Doctors continued this process for 24-hours, after which a time controlled, re-warming began.
The patient regained consciousness and left the ICU alert and oriented. Although this is a proven therapy, it is widely under-used in the United States.