4 ms·
Sticking ice in proximity to major arteries is going to be a lot less effective without a beating heart to circulate all that newly cold blood.
by dsfyu404ed 7y ago
Sticking ice in proximity to major arteries is going to be a lot less effective without a beating heart to circulate all that newly cold blood.
- JshWright 7y agoThis procedure is initiated after the heart has been restarted[1]. You're absolutely correct that it's pointless to do it earlier, especially since the far more important thing is getting the heart beating again. [1] This is known as "targeted temperature management" (TTM), and is part of the standard post-ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation) algorithm in ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), if you're looking for terms to Google.
- agumonkey 7y agothe cold won't distribute at all ?
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoIt will but much more slowly. Think of cooling the blood as using the surface area of the arteries and veins as a heat sink to cool the body. Without that blood moving your next best heat sink is the skin so start piling on the ice.
- JshWright 7y agoThe body itself is the heat sink. The skin is a radiator. The blood is the liquid in a liquid cooling system (moving heat from the sink to the radiator). To your point, liquid cooling systems become _much_ less effective when the liquid stops pumping.
- agumonkey 7y agoSo I guess ice and cardiac massaging are synergic.