Man Dead For 40 Minutes Brought Back To Life With New CPR Technique

Steve Williams · May 14, 2013

Very interesting.......

An Australian man who was clinically dead for 40 minutes was brought back to life, thanks to a relatively new cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) procedure.

Colin Fiedler, a 49-year-old from Dandenong in Victoria, was pronounced dead at The Alfred Hospital last June after suffering a heart attack, according to Australian news outlet Herald Sun. Doctors were able to revive him with the use of a mechanical CPR machine called the "AutoPulse," along with a portable heart-lung machine to keep blood and oxygen flowing to his vital organs.

Fiedler is one of seven cardiac arrest patients in Australia treated with the technique and one of three revived after being declared dead for 40 to 60 minutes, the Herald Sun notes.

The AutoPulse is a non-invasive, cardiac support pump that moves more blood throughout the body than manual compressions, according to manufacturer Zoll. It minimizes no-flow time and squeezes the entire chest as opposed to single-spot CPR.

The AutoPulse was first commercialized in 2003. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) have been discussing the usefulness of the CPR device for years, as well.

“It keeps chest pressure continuous and closer to therapeutic level,” EMT Intermediate and Sandy, Ore., volunteer David Silvia told ProCPR Blog back in 2009, “which in turn helps us administer the drugs. And there are no interruptions in CPR because you can shock, and give the drugs while it is running.”

“This has changed the way we work a cardiac arrest incident," added Nathan Jaqua, an EMT Basic and student firefighter. "We use the same skills, but it changes the entire atmosphere.”

The U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) conducted a study on the effect of AutoPulse in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitations in 2011. After examining the response of 29 patients, the NCBI concluded that the AutoPulse caused a greater increase of diastolic blood pressure, compared to manual chest compressions. The department added that this device is "promising" and could be beneficial as a care strategy.

mep · May 14, 2013

I hope they talked to him and captured his "near death" experience.

Whatmore · May 14, 2013

mep said:
I hope they talked to him and captured his "near death" experience.

Kerry Packer was an australian media mogul

In 1990 Kerry Packer suffered a heart attack whilst playing golf at Warwick Farm and was clinically dead for 6 minutes. He was saved only by the fact that an ambulance was fortuitously passing by. Even more fortuitously, the ambulance contained a defibrillator. Without that, the ambos would not have been able to revive him. He subsequently paid half the cost of fitting all ambulances in NSW with defibrillators, the State Government picking up the other half. The machines became known as "Packer Whackers".

Some time later Packer was approached by a person writing a story on after-death experiences. The person asked Packer what his experience had been, having been dead for six minutes. He replied:

"I've been to the other side, and let me tell you son, there's ******* nothing there."

mep · May 14, 2013

Interesting. Most of the near death stories have a familiar story line and that's not it.

MylesBAstor · May 15, 2013

Agreed! Extremely interesting.

ack · May 15, 2013

mep said:
Interesting. Most of the near death stories have a familiar story line and that's not it.

You mean the white light and such? He may have been "too dead" to remember (significant brain cell destruction). If I recall correctly, the white light was suspected to be another type of hallucination, brought on by oxygen starvation. There is a scientific study underway since 2008 to discover more on this - see http://www.horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=38 and http://www.horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=279. See also http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104397005

Unfortunately, I tend to believe in the nothingness after death.

jazdoc · May 15, 2013

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/35320/35323/372221.html?d=dmtHMSContent

Key section:

As opposed to many medical myths, researchers have reliable data concerning the success rates of CPR (without the use of automatic defibrillators) in a variety of settings:

2% to 30% effectiveness when administered outside of the hospital
6% to 15% for hospitalized patients
Less than 5% for elderly victims with multiple medical problems

MylesBAstor · May 15, 2013

jazdoc said:
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/35320/35323/372221.html?d=dmtHMSContent

Key section:

Even if CPR saves one person, it's worth the effort

As the article indicates, the powers to be are constantly evaluating the clinical data and the recommendations for CPR change periodically eg. now teaching more compressions and keeping the blood circulating over less breathing. It also doesn't seem to talk about whether the issue is CPR or the person performing the CPR.

The article also seem to negate/neglect the issue of defibrillators. Their availability continues to expand (at least in NY), and are arguably the most important component in performing CPR.

Steve Williams · May 15, 2013

MylesBAstor said:
Even if CPR saves one person, it's worth the effort

As the article indicates, the powers to be are constantly evaluating the clinical data and the recommendations for CPR change periodically eg. now teaching more compressions and keeping the blood circulating over less breathing. It also doesn't seem to talk about whether the issue is CPR or the person performing the CPR.

The article also seem to negate/neglect the issue of defibrillators. Their availability continues to expand (at least in NY), and are arguably the most important component in performing CPR.

AED's are everywhere now where there are large crowds, such as airports, shopping malls etc

Keith_W · May 15, 2013

Funny. I work in this very hospital (The Alfred) and I haven't heard of it

Steve Williams · May 15, 2013

Keith_W said:
Funny. I work in this very hospital (The Alfred) and I haven't heard of it

Indeed it is Keith

Steve Williams · May 15, 2013

Keith_W said:
Funny. I work in this very hospital (The Alfred) and I haven't heard of it

well in this country, to talk about it, would get the offender in trouble for HIPAA violations

so mum's the word

jazdoc · May 15, 2013

Just trying to inject a dose of reality into the discussion. Despite what is broadcast on TV, very few people walk away from an arrest completely intact. I live in the Seattle area which has been at the forefront of CPR for nearly 50 years and they have excellent data which I review at every renewal of my ACLS certification. (Good history on Wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cardiopulmonary_resuscitation). Interestingly, last year was the first time the booklet included a discussion regarding the ethics of CPR, especially in the elderly and infirmed.

Keith_W · May 15, 2013

Steve Williams said:
well in this country, to talk about it, would get the offender in trouble for HIPAA violations so mum's the word

What is HIPAA?

puroagave · May 15, 2013

"In 1990 Kerry Packer suffered a heart attack whilst playing golf at Warwick Farm and was clinically dead for 6 minutes. He was saved only by the fact that an ambulance was fortuitously passing by."

The fact the EMTs were there in a very short time is what saved his life not the CPR per say. My dad suffered a cardiac arrest at home due to atrial fib, the EMTs got there in about 15 mins but they were too late to prevent permanent brain damage due to oxygen starvation. He was revived but remained in coma for a few months before he passed. That headline is misleading.

jazdoc · May 15, 2013

Keith_W said:
What is HIPAA?

HIPAA = Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insurance_Portability_and_Accountability_Act

BTW, HIPAA and the IRS are in the news today:

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/irs-face-lawsuit-over-theft-60-million-patient-health-records

mep · May 15, 2013

ack said:
You mean the white light and such? He may have been "too dead" to remember (significant brain cell destruction). If I recall correctly, the white light was suspected to be another type of hallucination, brought on by oxygen starvation. There is a scientific study underway since 2008 to discover more on this - see http://www.horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=38 and http://www.horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=279. See also http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104397005

Unfortunately, I tend to believe in the nothingness after death.

You need to talk to Teresa from the Long Island Medium and maybe after she tells you a few things that no one else could possibly know except you and a departed relative you might become a believer. Either this show is the biggest fraud in the history of television or this woman is the real deal.

Keith_W · May 15, 2013

Thanks, jazdoc.

Whatmore · May 16, 2013

mep said:
You need to talk to Teresa from the Long Island Medium and maybe after she tells you a few things that no one else could possibly know except you and a departed relative you might become a believer. Either this show is the biggest fraud in the history of television or this woman is the real deal.

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