For those who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, there's approximately a 95% mortality rate. Many die within minutes.
But thanks to an $8,000 donation from the Hudson Rotary and Rotary International, Columbia Memorial Hospital is now able to offer the latest in hypothermia protocol, vastly improving a patient's chances for a full recovery. Victims of cardiac arrest are not only being saved,
but many return to full, active lives.
Dr. Michael Weisberg, an emergency room doctor since August 2007 at Columbia Memorial, recently addressed the Hudson Rotary and told the group that studies of people who had fallen through ice and suffered from hypothermia, showed positive effects on the body that could also help those who had suffered sudden cardiac arrest. It was thought, "why not lower the metabolism purposely? You keep the patient cold for 24 hours, with a core temperature of 93 degrees Farenheit, and then revive them by bringing their temperature slowly back to normal."
The success ratio has been astonishing, Weisberg said.
Early on, ice was used to lower the patient's temperature, "but that was messy," Weisberg said, presenting problems with water melting all around.
At the January 10 meeting of the Hudson Rotary, Dr. Weisberg accepted the $8,000 check that will be used to purchase what amounts
to a device in which to wrap the body for this protocol "that is almost like a sleeping bag."
