Therapeutic Hypothermia

Therapeutic hypothermia, also known as protective hypothermia, is a medical treatment that lowers a patient's body temperature in order to help reduce the risk of the ischemic injury to tissue following a period of insufficient blood flow. Periods of insufficient blood flow may be due to cardiac arrest or the occlusion of an artery by an embolism, as occurs in the case of strokes. Therapeutic hypothermia may be induced by invasive means, in which a catheter is placed in the inferior vena cava via the femoral vein, or by non-invasive means, usually involving a chilled water blanket or torso vest and leg wraps in direct contact with the patient's skin. Studies have demonstrated that patients at risk for ischemic brain injuries have better outcomes if treated with a hypothermia protocol.