Ambulance crews are to give cardiac arrest victims a new nasal spray to cool their brain in a pioneering experiment to improve survival chances.

The medication will be used on patients’ nostrils as soon as they have been resuscitated and continued until they are transferred to intensive care.

It is widely believed that cooling the brain after heart failure improves recovery and minimises the possibility of long-term brain damage.

The process is currently being evaluated by South East Coast Ambulance Service and Royal Sussex County Hospital’s A & E department.

So far four people have been involved in the testing, which is expected to take about six months to complete.

Prof Andy Newton, a Secamb consultant said : “The results of this evaluation should be extremely useful for us and all ambulance services as we strive to provide the very best care for our patients.

“We are excited to be the first UK ambulance service to cool a cardiac arrest patient’s brain while still at the scene and know that we have played our part in giving the best chance possible for a good recovery.”

Dr Rob Galloway from the Brighton hospital added : “It’s an excellent example of two separate NHS organisation co-operating to streamline a vital process of patient management, thereby improving patient care.”