Before this week, patients brought into Carilion Clinic hospitals after sudden cardiac arrest had low odds of survival, just as they do nationally.

A new process being used by Carilion called hypothermia therapy may change that. The treatment involves cooling a patient's body, which slows metabolism, reduces the brain's need for oxygen and helps to prevent brain damage, medical experts say.

Dr. John Burton said he is hoping improvements he saw at two other medical institutions after introducing hypothermia therapy will happen at Carilion, too.

Burton, chairman of emergency medicine at Carilion Clinic, said the arrival of the technique after a year of preparation is a "cultural change."

He said the reality of cardiac arrest is that if someone "drops," they have about a 5 percent chance of survival -- if the person is in an urban area. "Then, when you come into a rural environment like Western Virginia," he said, "that number drops substantially."

Before coming to Carilion, Burton was residency program director in emergency medicine at Albany Medical Center. He was a part of that New York hospital's effort to start using hypothermia therapy. A year after implementing the treatment, the hospital saw its survival rate skyrocket from 5 percent to 58 percent.

Although it is simple in theory, Ann Hutchens, manager of the coronary care unit, said it is a very difficult treatment.

"It isn't easy to get and keep a patient's body temperature cooled at the level that we need it, because the body does not want to be cooled down," Hutchens said.

Hypothermia therapy treatment begins when emergency medical services personnel arrive on the scene. First, they must restore the patient's heartbeat.

Once that is accomplished, paramedics place cold packs in the patient's armpits and groin and infuse chilled intravenous fluids.

After the patient arrives at the hospital, he or she is cooled further by a process manufactured by Medivance called Arctic Sun. The technology uses water circulating through gel pads to lower the patient's body temperature to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The pads are designed to allow doctors and nurses to continue the other treatments needed. After the patient has been stabilized and cooled for 24 hours, the system returns the body to a normal temperature.

"We are looking at making significant improvements in survival and quality of life," said Dr. Charles Lane, an emergency medicine physician and the regional medical director for the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Systems Council.