Old news is good news and come around again

I've reported in Rejuvenation Engineering News a couple of times before, once for heart attack victims and once for children, about the benefits of cold for preserving the brain and other tissues. It halts damage and increases the span of the "Golden Hour" spoken of for trauma victims that best recover if dealt with promptly within the first hour from injury.

Minn. Hospitals Chill Heart Attack Victims

Wed Jan 4, 10:14 AM ET

MINNEAPOLIS - A handful of Minnesota hospitals are now chilling some heart attack patients in an effort partly to protect their brains, a therapy that has produced results one doctor called "breathtaking."

Take the case of Robert Kempenich, 52, of Little Falls. On Dec. 5, he collapsed at a SuperAmerica store and was rushed to a St. Cloud hospital where he was hooked up to a machine that lowered his body temperature to 92 degrees.

Under normal circumstances, only about 5 percent of patients who collapse after a sudden heart attack survive. Even if emergency workers get the heart started again, the brain damage is often permanent.

Yet two days after Kempenich collapsed he awoke from a coma and gave the "thumbs up" sign. His wife, Mary, was there. The sign meant, "He knows," she said. "He knows what he's doing."

Less than a week later, Kempenich went home from the hospital. He was back at work at the SuperAmerica last week. His doctors say there are no signs of lasting brain damage. (cont.)

It is wonderful to see a good idea spreading across the country. Hopefully soon every hospital will get on the bandwagon and be better prepared for cool measures that save clever brains and their owners. See the rest of the article here.