July 25, 2007

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Therapeutic hypothermia method receiving national attention

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Therapeutic hypothermia, the practice of intentionally cooling the bodies of medical patients to prevent brain damage and increase survival, is receiving national attention. The cover story of the July 23 issue of Newsweek reports the method’s increasing use on victims of cardiac arrest. Also showcased is the Arctic Sun System, a medical device that induces hypothermia using water circulated through heat-conducting pads.

“We are excited to see the broader nationwide adoption of therapeutic cooling treatment and technology,” said Janet Steinkamp, Take Heart St. Cloud coordinator at St. Cloud Hospital. “This is a technology that has contributed to the care of many St. Cloud area cardiac arrest victims, and now more individuals will have the chance to benefit from this new approach to cardiac arrest patient care.”

Both therapeutic hypothermia and the Arctic Sun System have been employed at St. Cloud Hospital since 2005. In December of that year, a Little Falls man was the hospital’s first patient to receive the treatment after he suffered cardiac arrest and went into a comatose state. He underwent therapeutic cooling and later made a full recovery.

Since then, 48 patients have been treated at St. Cloud Hospital using the method – all of them cardiac arrest victims. Worldwide, the survival rate for cardiac arrest is 5 percent. It was 8 percent in the St. Cloud area in 2005, the latest year for which numbers are available. Only a minority of patients – those who survive the initial cardiac arrest and meet specific criteria – are considered candidates for cooling. Of those who have been therapeutically cooled at St. Cloud Hospital, 50% have survived and been discharged.

Therapeutic hypothermia works by protecting the brain, increasing the likelihood of survival and minimizing the neurological damage that can result from a full cardiac arrest. This is achieved by temporarily reducing the brain’s need for oxygen by lowering the patient’s body temperature to 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours. Without this type of intervention, it is rare for survivors of sudden cardiac death to reawaken if they do not immediately regain consciousness upon resuscitation.

The approach is in keeping with guidelines from the American Heart Association, which call for cooling down cardiac arrest patients to about 90 degrees for 12 to 24 hours. Two significant studies have shown that the practice can improve survival and brain function for those who are comatose after initial resuscitation.

The Arctic Sun System, built by Medivance, Inc., induces hypothermia non-invasively by circulating water through heat-conducting pads attached to the patient. The device monitors the patient’s temperature while adjusting the water to precisely cool and then re-warm the individual. The system replaces older, more imprecise methods of cooling such as the use of ice packs and water blankets.

Currently, only about 225 of the more than 5,700 hospitals in the United States have equipment for inducing hypothermia.

The use of therapeutic cooling is one part of the Take Heart St. Cloud’s effort to increase the cardiac arrest survival rate in the St. Cloud area by 25 percent. The program, based at the Central Minnesota Heart Center in St. Cloud Hospital, is part of Take Heart America, a nationwide initiative aimed at increasing the survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest through community-wide training, distribution of new technology and implementation of new in-hospital treatments.

Take Heart St. Cloud partnerships have been established with the CentraCare Health Foundation, St. Cloud Hospital, SCH Emergency Trauma Center, Medtronic, St. Jude Foundation, Boston Scientific, Gold Cross/Mayo Emergency Transport, the cities of St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Cold Spring, St. Joseph and Waite Park; School Districts ISD 742, 748, 750, 47; Kiwanis, Optimists, Sertoma, and Rotary Clubs; St. Cloud Technical College and area Volunteer First Responder groups.

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