Citrus Memorial Heart Center

Induced Cooling by EMS

Citrus Memorial is the first community hospital to partner with local EMS (Emergency Medical Services) in the U.S. to offer the revolutionary ICE (Induced Cooling by EMS) program for cardiac arrest patients, and it's saving a lot of lives.

When the heart stops, oxygen is cut off from the brain, causing irreparable damage; but at a lower body temperature, the brain needs less oxygen. So, we don't simply restart the heart - we cool the patient.

The process begins with EMS and continues at the Heart Center where the patient is induced into a coma and body temperature is lowered to 90 degrees while the patient's heart problems are addressed. Later, after the body is slowly warmed to normal temperature, the patient usually walks away fully recovered.

The program is so successful it's becoming the standard of care across the country.

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ICE is one example of the level of care available at Citrus Memorial Health System’s state-of-the-art Heart Center.

The heart team has performed more than 10,000 cardiac catheterizations; 1,400 open-heart surgeries including coronary artery bypass, valve repair and replacement; as well as arrhythmia, vascular and thoracic surgeries totaling over 2,600 cases since it opened in 2004.

The Citrus Memorial Heart Center is known for keeping up with some of the most amazing technological advancements, not to mention with big-city hospitals. Read below for one of the amazing ways we are working to improve the heart of Citrus County.