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

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.

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.

I dropped dead of cardiac arrest on Aug. 11, 2009, fortunately right in front of a cardiologist and a crash cart at the hospital. I guess I was gone for a minute or two as they hit me twice with a defibrilator and my heart started right up, though described by doctors as like jelly.

They put me in an “Artic Sun” medical coma to lower my body temperature to 80-82*F in order to keep the brain from frying for a lack of oxygen. After two days, I was brought out of this coma and went into a normal medical coma, developed pneumonia, a back rash, and had about 50 brain seizures.

After 6 days in la-la land, I woke up and everything was basically fine. All parts worked and the memory was not impaired, but with possible slowness for recalling names (usually less than 20 seconds but of names that I did not commonly hear or of a person who I hadn’t seen in a good while).

Got a defibrilator/pacemaker and a larger stent (next to my older one), and after 16 days, I walked out of the hospital and never had any problems.

The doctors were magnificient as were the rest of the medical staff. The equipment and medicines worked well, and the staff were well trained. They were worth every cent they got (no Obama death panels around then).

Sorry. No angels, bright lights, etc. Nothing. No memory of anything after I left my office to go to my son’s patrol car in which he took me to the hospital (I thought I had food poisoning).

However, a friend of mine, a NYPC cop, was being beaten to death by some drug dealers he was trying to arrest, and he saw his whole family, angels, lights, etc. However, being an Irish cop, he said the heck with this and got out from under the beating by the three thugs, knocked one out and put him under his car, and then went after the others.

I think that the lights, etc. are products of the degree of injury/dying that is different in each individual. I wasn’t clinically dead long enough to see these phenomenon while others who were out longer, saw them very clearly.

However, the real miracle is that the doctors could bring us back from the dead (no pulse, no heartbeat, no oxygen flow to the brain). That is a real miracle and I’m living proof that it happened, plus I was not supposed to survive the comas, the pneumonia and the brain seizures. Fooled them, didn’t I, and I’m glad I did.

They never found out what caused the cardiac arrest as the main artery was not completely closed, though it might have had an effect on the chemicals in my body (i.e. chemical imbalance).

I thank God and the doctors that I’m still here. Somebody has to kick Obama’s ass out of office.

Remember, also - take half an aspirin at night. Helps prevent strokes and heart attacks.

Great technology. The title is a bit misleading though. It’s not a “new CPR technique” but rather a way to monitor the effectiveness of CPR being administered.

"She began CPR - pounding on his chest to manually circulate blood through Rodney's body."

That sounds like the relatively new "hands only" method of CPR without any breaths of air from the rescuer to the victim like I was taught originally.

"(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."

How long have capnography machines, whether fixed or portable, been standard equipment aboard ambulances?

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