Hypothermia Preserves Heart Tissue Following Heart Attack

A new study shows that the induction of mild hypothermia in myocardial infarct (MI) patients prior to performing an angioplasty can significantly save heart tissue.

Researchers at Lund University Hospital (Sweden) conducted a prospective randomized study to examine the use of an endovascular catheter used in combination with cold saline as an adjunct to immediate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with an occluded infarct-related artery, as a tool to reduce infarct size resulting from acute anterior MI. In all, 20 patients with acute MI were enrolled in the study, who achieved a mild hypothermia (under 35 degrees centigrade) with affecting door-to balloon time. After four days, Myocardium at Risk (MaR) and infarct size (IS) were assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The results showed that despite similar ischemia duration as in the control patients, IS to normalized MaR was reduced by 38% in the hypothermia group, when compared to the control patients. This was supported by a significant decrease in both peak and cumulative release of Troponin T in the hypothermia group. The results of the study were presented in a keynote oral presentation at the EuroPCR, the official congress of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), held during May 2010 in Paris (France).

"The protocol demonstrates the ability to safely reach a core body temperature of under 35 degrees before reperfusion without delaying primary PCI,” concluded study presenter and lead author Göran Olivecrona, M.D., Ph.D., of the department of cardiology.

The pilot study was designed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the Philips Healthcare (Best, The Netherlands) InnerCool endovascular cooling system, an advanced whole body temperature-modulation system for cooling and warming the body in a closed-loop circuit that is capable of both surface and endovascular cooling.

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Lund University Hospital
Philips Healthcare