Your friend, a family member or perhaps even a total stranger collapses without a pulse—in cardiac arrest. What to do?
Calling 911 should be your clear first step.
Next, CPR is critical—and recent research shows that mouth-to-mouth isn’t really that important. Chest compressions alone are enough to keep blood flowing to the brain and drastically improve chances of survival.
But most people don’t know that even after the paramedics arrive, there’s one more thing you can do to make a big difference for the victim of cardiac arrest: Make sure he or she gets treated at an emergency facility that practices “cooling”!
Cooling, or therapeutic hypothermia, is one of the most promising therapies in the treatment of cardiac arrest. Survival and brain function recovery can double if cooling is achieved within 6-8 hours. Researchers at Penn Medicine’s Center for Resuscitation Science are working to help emergency room staffs across the country to provide this life- (and quality-of-life-) saving protocol. Yet only about 30% of hospitals use this life-saving method today.
Get your loved ones to a hospital that performs therapeutic hypothermia. They’ll thank you for keeping a cool head in an emergency.
