QUICK-CHILLING people by pumping an icy slurry into their lungs could help
them survive a heart attack or stroke.
The chief cause of death or injury during heart attacks and strokes is oxygen
starvation in parts of the brain. But even when the oxygen supply is restored,
many cells surrounding injured areas continue to die. Medics have thought for a
long time that if they can cool a person by a few degrees, they can reduce such
secondary injuries.
But cooling people by wrapping them in a cold blanket, or placing bags of icy
water against their scalp, doesn’t work…
