Santa Clara County paramedics soon will use a new, “life-saving” treatment that features a special cooling method to reduce brain damage in victims of heart attacks, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
The new system, which went into effect Thursday, uses what’s known as “therapeutic cooling,” a method of chilling the body from the inside out to slow brain cells from dying, according to the release.
The method also helps patients’ brains recover quickly from a lack of oxygen brought on by the heart attack, according to the release.
“Clinically induced hypothermia can improve the neurologic outcome of unconscious patients following sudden cardiac arrest,” Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services System Medical Director Dr. Eric Rudnick said in a statement. “Normal body temperature is 98.6, and this treatment cools the body to 90 to 93 degrees to stop cell death.”
Paramedics have been learning the new system since September.
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