Why hypothermia can help
Therapeutic hypothermia, a controlled reduction of core body temperature to 89.6° F to 93.2° F (32° C to 34° C), is used in patients who don’t regain consciousness after ROSC following cardiac arrest. How does therapeutic hypothermia help the body? Cardiac arrest can result in global ischemia, direct cell damage,and cerebral edema, leading to a high rate of cerebral ischemia. Hypoxic brain injury directly results in neuronal damage and cerebral edema. The earliest rationale for the effects of hypothermia as a neuroprotectant was based on the slowing of cellular metabolism that results from a drop in body temperature. For every 1.8° F(1° C) drop in body temperature,
cellular metabolism decreases by 5% to 7%.3 Consequently, hypothermia protects the brain and preserves neurologic functioning long term.