He Was Not Breathing, His Heart Stopped Beating But Doctors Brought Him To Life Again

The man was in an unconscious state with zero vitals - no breath, no heart activity and a flatline ECG.

In what may be termed a miracle, doctors gave a second life to a 42-year-old man who was brought to the hospital with no vital signs. The patient’s heart had stopped beating due to a severe heart attack. His family recounted that the man experienced an hour of chest pain that he initially dismissed as gastric trouble, a decision that almost cost him his life. Just minutes before reaching the hospital, he stopped breathing. 

In a race against time, the team of doctors attended to the patient and within 20 minutes, the patient was revived. Timely diagnosis and quick medical intervention were the key factors in reviving the patient.

The patient was rushed to the emergency department of the hospital in an unconscious and unresponsive state with no breath, non-reactive pupils and no heart activity along with a flat-lined ECG. The team of doctors, in the emergency department immediately administered CPR, intubation, and mechanical ventilation and after 20 minutes of aggressive resuscitative efforts, the patient regained his vitals, post which he was rushed to the cath lab, where necessary investigations were done which revealed a critical blockage in the left anterior descending artery of the heart.

Dr Mashhad Haider Rizvi, Head - Emergency, at Fortis Shalimar Bagh said, “Emergency care in a hospital during a cardiac arrest is typically focused on restoring blood flow to the brain and other vital organs to prevent further damage. When the patient arrived at the emergency department, we decided to resuscitate him as his heart had stopped pumping 6-7 minutes prior to reaching the hospital, the survival of the patient in this kind of scenario is very rare.”

Giving details of the case, Dr Naresh Kumar Goyal, Director and HOD - Cardiology & Heart Failure, said, “We decided to conduct an angioplasty amidst repeated electric shock and chest compressions. A critical blockage in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a serious condition that can lead to a heart attack. The LAD is the largest coronary artery, and it supplies blood to the front of the left ventricle, which is the main pumping chamber of the heart. A blockage in the LAD can reduce or stop the flow of blood to the heart muscle, which can damage or destroy heart tissue.”