Hydrogen Inhalation Outperforms Cooling for Heart Attack Recovery in Rats
- Authors
- Gang Chen, Bihua Chen, Chenxi Dai, Jianjie Wang, Juan Wang, Yuanyuan Huang, Yongqin Li
- Journal
- Shock
- Year
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.1097/SHK.0000000000001092
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Cardiac Arrest
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas significantly improved brain recovery and survival rates in rats with high blood pressure after they were resuscitated from a simulated cardiac arrest.
Key Finding
Rats that inhaled hydrogen gas had survival rates of 80-90% after cardiac arrest, compared to just 30% in control and cooling-only groups, with significantly less brain and heart damage.
Summary
This study tested whether breathing hydrogen gas could help rats recover after cardiac arrest (when the heart stops beating). Researchers compared four treatments: normal oxygen breathing, cooling the body, breathing hydrogen gas, and breathing hydrogen gas while cooled. Rats that breathed hydrogen gas had much better survival rates (80-90%) and less brain and heart damage compared to rats that only received standard oxygen or cooling alone.
Practical Takeaway
While these results in rats are encouraging, this is early-stage animal research and does not yet demonstrate that hydrogen inhalation would work the same way in humans after cardiac arrest. Human clinical trials would be needed before hydrogen could be considered a viable treatment for this condition.
Abstract (excerpt)
Background: Postcardiac arrest syndrome is the consequence of whole-body ischemia-reperfusion events that lead to multiple organ failure and eventually to death. Recent animal studies demonstrated that inhalation of hydrogen greatly mitigates postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction and brain…