Thaindian News

Washington, May 3 (ANI): A 54-year-old man who collapsed on a recent winter night in rural Minnesota after a heart attack and remained pulselessness for 96 minutes, was saved thanks to capnography- a device that measures blood flow through the lungs, and thereby, to other organs.

Even after given continuous CPR and a series of shocks with a defibrillator, the man was without a pulse for 96 minutes.

But as the measurement on the capnography remained sufficiently high, the rescuers were encouraged to continue resuscitation efforts.

Capnography has been used to monitor patients in operating rooms but is not frequently used by emergency personnel when treating cardiac arrest.

Emergency respondents administered a total of 12 defibrillator shocks and kept the patient’s blood flowing with continuous chest compressions.

“The patient made a complete recovery following prolonged pulselessness,” said anesthesiologist and cardiac care specialist Roger White, lead author of the study.

“A pulse gradually returned. The effort was successful in large part because of capnography, which informed emergency workers that if they persisted, it was conceivable they’d have a survivor on their hands,” he said.

Once his pulse had resumed, the patient was flown to Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minn., and found to have an occluded artery.

A clot was removed and a stent inserted after the artery was opened. He was discharged a week and a half later showing no neurological problems from the extended period without a pulse.

The incident was reported first in Mayo Clinic Proceedings online. (ANI)