Dr. Jake Steenblik Publishes Groundbreaking Research on Brain Protection After Cardiac Arrest
Jake Steenblik, DNP, MPH, MHA, RN, CCRP, Senior Research Manager for the Department of Anesthesiology and Assistant Professor (Clinical) in the University of Utah College of Nursing, recently published new research in the November issue of Resuscitation Plus that explores how rapid cooling through ECMO may help protect the brain after cardiac arrest.
The study—conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Emergency Medicine—titled “ECMO-facilitated rapid and deep hypothermia reduces brain injury on MRI following prolonged cardiac arrest in a translational swine model,” was conducted in collaboration with Emergency Medicine colleagues and offers promising evidence for improving neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest.
“Basically, we looked at brain function after ECMO and whether hypothermia could help preserve it,” said Dr. Steenblik. “We found that using hypothermia during ECMO significantly reduced brain injury—an exciting finding that may have real implications for future patient care."
The research team used a controlled swine model of cardiac arrest to compare outcomes between animals cooled rapidly using ECMO and those who received normal-temperature reperfusion. MRI scans showed markedly less brain injury among the cooled group, suggesting that ECMO-facilitated hypothermia could be a powerful tool for reducing hypoxic brain injury after cardiac arrest.
This study adds to a growing body of work examining how ECMO and targeted temperature management can improve survival and neurological recovery after cardiac arrest—potentially paving the way for future clinical trials.