X-Message-Number: 17503 Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 15:57:30 -0400 From: William Gale <> Subject: initial cooling An article in the current Discovery magazine on cooling cardiac arrest patients is encouraging that better cooling techniques are being developed and accepted. (The article cites work by Michael Darwin and Steven Harris, who have provided cooling for cryonics patients and by Lance Becker and Ken Kasza who focus on resuscitation.) The article also made me aware that the researchers in this area believe that irreversible brain damage occurs about five minutes after blood stops reaching the brain. This is an incredibly short time to take the initial cooling steps. I'm wondering what arrangements are made to accomplish it. The CI web site has this short note: The patient should be pronounced dead as soon as possible after clinical death (which usually means after cessation of heartbeat and breathing). As soon as possible after that, he should be cooled--especially the head--by application of ice or other available means. The best scenario is for the patient to die at home under hospice care, with trained personnel --CI or family or morticians--on hand. Is there more detail somewhere? Cordially, Gale Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17503