The simple act of cooling the bodies of heart attack victims at the scene of their collapse could help save lives and aid recovery, new research suggests.

The simple act of cooling the bodies of heart attack victims at the scene of their collapse could help save lives and aid recovery, new research suggests.

Doctors already know that reducing the body temperature of cardiac arrest sufferers can help prevent brain damage.

Now a £90,000 study funded by Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland is to investigate whether reducing body temperature earlier will help save the lives of some of the 90% of Scotland's 2500 heart attack victims who die before reaching hospital each year.

Dr Richard Lyon, based at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, is leading the pioneering study, and will attend heart attack call-outs to monitor the vital signs of sufferers throughout their critical early treatment. He will work closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service during the project and is on stand-by to attend the scene within minutes.

He said: "We know cooling the body down can help but we don't know when is best to start the cooling. I go out to the scene and basically bring intensive care monitoring to the victim.

"We are looking at what the core body temperature is at the scene and perhaps if they are outside already and quite cool we might not need to cool them. We have monitors giving us very detailed information about what is happening in those crucial few moments.

"At the moment, cooling would start in intensive care, so we will see whether it could be better done before that in the ambulance or in accident and emergency. A drip with cooling saline would be used to help reduce body temperature."

The benefits of early help were highlighted last month when an Edinburgh man who was clinically dead for a number of minutes after suffering a heart attack made a remarkable recovery.

John Logan, 57, went into cardiac arrest on the bus on the way home from work, but an ambulance crew that was nearby was able to resuscitate him.

Tracylee Armit, the paramedic who treated him, said Mr Logan was not breathing when they arrived, adding: "We were sitting at traffic lights when we got the call to the High Street. We got the call at 12.59 and we were on the scene at 13.00. We were able to shock him to get his heart back from an incorrect rhythm into a correct rhythm. He suddenly gasped for air and that was it."

Mr Logan said yesterday: "All I remember is being on the bus one minute and then waking up in hospital."

While he was unconscious Dr Lyon, who arrived only a few minutes after the ambulance, monitored Mr Logan.

Dr Lyon added "There are about 2500 cardiac arrests happen each year throughout the country, and unfortunately most of the outcomes aren't quite like John's.

"The vast majority of heart attack patients die before they ever reach hospital. Of the ones who do make it, a substantial number are left with brain damage."

CHSS chief executive David Clark said yesterday: "We have a particular focus on patient care, and this study is an area that could impact on saving lives. But it is not just about saving lives - it is also about quality of life afterwards."