Hypothermia can kill. It most often afflicts people who have been shipwrecked or lost in the woods. It isn’t a treatment you would expect to receive in hospital. It is, however, becoming a common and useful method to prevent severe brain damage in patients that have suffered unconsciousness due a lack of oxygenated blood—such as those who have suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

This article shall explore the what, when, why and how, of this (relatively) new therapy.

What

The term is not that common, but usually understood by the general public. It comes from hypo - meaning below, and the Greek thermē - for heat. It describes a normally dangerous situation where the body temperature is lower than normal. (There is also another very similar word hyperthermia, which has the same origins, except hyper means beyond, and describes higher than normal body temperature.)

TORONTO, ON–The Government of Ontario is empowering youth to save lives through a major commitment to the ACT Foundation to support the establishment of defibrillator training in Ontario high schools.

A $1.4 million investment from the province will help the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation train teachers to teach students how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). It will support the placement of defibrillators in Ontario high schools and the purchase of mannequins and other training materials. An unprecedented number of young people will be trained through this initiative.  

“This is a valuable learning opportunity for students — and can help our communities. Young people who are trained and ready to act could save a life,” says Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.

On Monday, the Senate passed S. Con. Res. 93 by unanimous consent, supporting the goals and ideals of "National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month." 

The House followed suit by passing H. Con. Res. 393 by a voice vote on Thursday.

Both Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Michael Burgess (R-TX) spoke in favor of the resolution. The  legislation is designed to focus the nation on a leading cause of death in the U.S.: sudden cardiac arrest.

The SCA Foundation is a member of the SCA Coalition, which has advocated for this legislation. The Foundation plans an awards dinner on October 29th to highlight National SCA Awareness Month.

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced it will install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in all agency facilities with 50 or more employees during the next year.

“Our focus on aviation safety includes the safety and well-being of our own employees. The unexpected and sudden moments in which defibrillation can be effective require quick thought and decisive action — traits the FAA workforce is famous for,” said FAA Acting Administrator Robert A. Sturgell. “Together our labor groups and FAA management have made a very positive step to ensure our employees have enhanced safety in the workplace, and I applaud all parties for bringing this about.”

Sturgell also singled out Rep. John Kline of Minnesota for his continuing interest in bringing AEDs to FAA facilities.

September 24, 2008--An analysis of emergency medical services-treated cardiac arrest outcomes in 10 areas in North America finds a five-fold difference in survival rates, according to a study in the Sept. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Arthur B. Sanders and Dr. Karl B. Kern of The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center write that "this wide variability in outcome emphasizes the pressing need for each community to first ‘know its numbers,' then concentrate on improving survival rates by focusing on locally identified problem areas within the chain of survival.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When someone's heart suddenly stops beating -- a condition called cardiac arrest -- there's a lot that bystanders and ambulance crews can do to get it started
again. But if the victim doesn't respond, when should such efforts stop?

And when should emergency crews rapidly transport a patient to a hospital with lights and sirens on, potentially endangering the lives of paramedics and other motorists and pedestrians -- even though the care
provided by the emergency crew is the same as what can be provided in the emergency department?