New CPR technique revives man after 63 minutes without pulse

[The Straight Story]

New CPR technique revives man after 63 minutes without pulse (3:49)

Oct. 27 - The rules of how to treat cardiac arrest are being re-written at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Technology, new drug treatments, conventional CPR and the use of hypothermia are now being coordinated with great affect - in one case reviving a man who'd been clinically dead for more than an hour. Ben Gruber reports.

Rodney Whitmore is exercising in the physical therapy wing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. It's part of his recovery regimen. Two months ago in his farm house, Rodney went into cardiac arrest. His heart stopped pumping blood and supplying oxygen to his body. Statistically, Rodney's brain should have been irreversibly damaged after just five minutes. But today, Rodney is fine... and he was clinically dead for more than an hour. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RODNEY WHITMORE, CARDIAC ARREST SURVIVOR, SAYING: "Being brought back to life….it's different." Rodney was the recipient of a revolutionary combination of treatments that saved his life and kept his brain intact. The immediate response of his wife Laurie was crucial. She began CPR - pounding on his chest to manually circulate blood through Rodney's body. (SOUNDBITE)

(English) LAURIE WHITMORE, WIFE OF RODNEY WHITMORE, SAYING: "I know I was scared. I remember being very scared I also, in hindsight think, I remember that this is what I needed to do and I that point, if I wasn't doing that, I was afraid, I was alone and I was just hoping that somebody will get here." After nine long minutes, help arrived. Paramedics hooked Rodney up to a defibrillator and something relatively new - a capnography machine, normally used in anaesthetic procedures. According to Dr Roger White, who was on the phone directing the paramedics that night, the machine tells emergency responders if CPR is having the desired effect.

http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/10/27/new-cpr-technique-revives-man-after-63-m?videoId=223945877&videoChannel=6