Since 2005, when the American Heart Association issued recommendations and guidelines for inducing mild hypothermia in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest, the number of hospitals offering the treatment has climbed. Almost 500 of about 5,000 hospitals across the country are doing it, says critical-care expert Vinay Nadkarni, the heart association's spokesman for emergency cardiovascular care. But most proponents of cooling say they're surprised that the therapy hasn't caught on faster.
