British woman resuscitated after 6-hour cardiac arrest

By Alyssa McMurtry

MADRID (AA) - In what she described as something "like a miracle", a British woman in Barcelona was revived by doctors after her heart stopped beating for six hours.

"This is an exceptional case on a global scale," Dr. Eduard Argudo, a doctor at the Vall d'Hebron hospital where Audrey Mash was treated, told a press conference on Thursday, adding "It is the longest cardiac arrest ever recorded in Spain."

A 34-year-old English teacher living in Barcelona, Mash had gone hiking with her husband in the Pyrenees Mountains in November. After getting caught in an unexpected snowstorm without a water-proof jacket, severe hypothermia set in and her body temperature dropped to around 18C (64.4F).

Her husband, Rohan Schoeman told reporters he was "terrified" as he watched his wife lose consciousness, with Mash's condition worsening as they waited for emergency services to arrive in the remote area.

"I couldn't feel a breath, I couldn't feel a heartbeat," said Schoeman.

When Mash finally arrived at the hospital nearly five hours after the first signs of hypothermia started to set in, doctors explained at a press conference that she had no vital signs -- there was no activity in her heart, kidneys or lungs.

Then, after around four hours in the hospital receiving treatment from a specialized machine called an EMCO, which oxygenizes the blood, her body reached 30C degrees and her heart began to beat again.

"She looked like she was dead […] but in the context of hypothermia, we knew Audrey had a chance of surviving," said Argudo.

In cases of cardiac arrest due to hypothermia, a person cannot be considered dead until they are warmed again because the body enters a state similar to hibernation in which normal quantities of oxygen are not required. A 65-year-old woman in Switzerland made a full recovery after her heart stopped beating for 8 hours and 40 minutes due to severe hypothermia, according to an article in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Mash was released from the hospital after 12 days. She has no neurological damage, except for the nerves in her hands.

She told reporters that she had no memories of the incident, and plans on getting back to hiking in the mountains once winter is over.

"It feels really incredible that I survived it," she said at the press conference.

"It's like a miracle except it's all because of the doctors."