A British woman whose experienced a six-hour cardiac arrest has been revived by doctors, who described it as an "exceptional case".
British woman Audrey Schoeman was in cardiac arrest for six hours before being brought back to life by doctors. She developed severe hypothermia while hiking through a snowstorm in the Spanish Pyrenees with her husband in November.
According to doctors, it was the longest cardiac arrest ever recorded n Spain. Schoeman, aged 34 years old, is nearing full recovery following the incident and she hopes to be able to hike again by spring.
The Barcelona resident starting having problems speaking and moving during severe weather in the Pyrenees and later fell unconscious. Her husband Rohan even believed she was dead as her condition worsened while waiting for emergency services.
At a press conference on Thursday, Schoeman said: "I was trying to feel a pulse... I couldn't feel a breath, I couldn't feel a heartbeat." Her body temperature has declined to 18 degrees Celsius when the rescue team arrived two hours later.
She had no vital signs when they arrived at Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. Physician Eduard Argudo pointed out that the low mountain temperatures which made Schoeman ill may also have helped save her life.
Dr. Argudo said: "She looked as though she was dead. But we knew that, in the context of hypothermia, Audrey had a chance of surviving." He mentioned that while hypothermia brought her to the brink of death, it also protected her body and brain from deteriorating while unconscious.
"If she had been in cardiac arrest for this long at a normal body temperature, she would be dead," Dr. Argudo added.
In order to revive Schoeman, the doctors used a specialized machine capable of removing blood, infusing it with oxygen and reintroducing it to the patient. They then used a defibrillator to jump-start her heart once her body temperature reached 30C.
Twelve days later, Mrs. Choeman was discharged by the hospital, with a only some lingering issues with the mobility and sensitivity of her hands due to the hypothermia.
