Hospital uses new therapeutic hypothermia to save life

The "ifs" keep running through Eric Davenport's mind: If the EMTs hadn't gotten to him so quickly...; If he didn't live less than a mile from the hospital...; If his wife hadn't been home...; If the ER staff hadn't recently implemented a new therapy for heart attack patients...

If all those factors hadn't come together, Davenport almost certainly wouldn't be alive today.

"It wasn't my time to go," Davenport said of his sudden massive heart attack the evening of Dec. 12.

The 54-year-old semi-retired auto mechanic had been without a pulse four minutes and was already clinically dead when first-responders arrived at his home.

A victim's survival rate drops seven to 10 percent each minute a pulse is absent, according to the American Heart Association. Davenport's chances plummeted nearly 40 percent.

EMTs initially revived Davenport by shocking his heart three times with a defibrillator. He regained a pulse, but remained comatose.

After he was transported to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, emergency department staff used a new treatment - therapeutic hypothermia - also known as "Code Ice," to minimize Davenport's risk of neurological damage to his brain.

Candidates qualify for the procedure by meeting a set of criteria including: recovery of spontaneous blood circulation after cardiac arrest, no indication of severely impaired cognitive status prior to attack, and less than 12 hours passed since return of pulse.

Davenport's body was cooled to 93 degrees Fahrenheit using chilled IV fluids and a cooling machine that circulated cold water through a special vest and leg wraps. He stayed at that temperature for 24 hours, then was gradually warmed back to 98.6 degrees over a 12-hour period.

"You cool the body quickly and warm it slowly," explained Sondra Ramsey, a clinical nurse educator who helped train 144 Chesapeake Regional medical staff members in the new procedure that was implemented last October, just weeks before it was used on Davenport.

Therapeutic hypothermia slows the body's metabolism to protect the brain from damage by oxygen deprivation caused by cardiac arrest or stroke.

"Your heart doesn't have to work as hard, your brain doesn't have to work as hard, your breathing - everything slows way down so cells don't die as quickly," said nurse Sherri Caldwell, Emergency Department clinical coordinator.

It took Davenport six days to regain consciousness and his wife, Domenica, 52, didn't know if he would live or what condition he would be in if he did survive. When Davenport opened his eyes after six days and saw his wife, he was confused.

"He asked me where he was and what had happened," Domenica Davenport said. "He still doesn't remember what happened to him the day he had the heart attack."

"All I know is that one day I woke up in the hospital," Eric Davenport said.

Domenica Davenport said all she could do was cry when she realized he would be OK. In the emergency room, she had been told Davenport had a 50 percent chance of survival.

Davenport was the second of three Chesapeake Regional patients on whom therapeutic hypothermia has been used since November. To date, he is the only survivor.

Although statistics vary for the procedure, they all indicate chances for survival increase significantly - up to 25 percent - when it is properly administered, according to clinical studies publish by the American Heart Association.

Davenport discovered he had a small arterial blockage that may have contributed to his heart attack, but doctors still are examining reasons for the episode.

Since being discharged from the hospital, he has worn a heart monitor with an external defibrillator and is participating in rehabilitative physical therapy.

Davenport said he is extremely grateful to the many people who played a role in his survival and recovery.

"People did things for me that I don't even know," he said. I'm very thankful to everyone involved - from EMTs to police to the ER and hospital staff. I feel very, very lucky."

Lia Russell, 582-6865, rhett2lia@cox.net