VIDEO: Therapeutic hypothermia lowers mortality in certain patients with cardiac arrest

For years, experts have debated the efficacy of therapeutic hypothermia in comatose patients after cardiac arrest.

Results of a new study recently presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session showed that therapeutic hypothermia may benefit patients who have an initial shockable rhythm post-cardiac arrest, according to Healio Primary Care Peer Perspective Board Member Shivaraj Nagalli, MD, FACP, a hospital medicine physician at Shelby Baptist Medical Center in Alabaster, Alabama. Specifically, Nagalli and colleagues found that therapeutic hypothermia was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality and poor neurological outcomes among this subgroup of patients.

In this video, Nagalli discusses the findings of his study, which he said is “the largest meta-analysis that studied the efficacy of therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac arrest patients” to date.

Reference:

Nasir U, et al. Therapeutic hypothermia is associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality in cardiac arrest with initial shockable rhythm. Presented at: American College of Cardiology Scientific Session; April 2-4, 2022; Washington, D.C. (hybrid meeting).