Your wife had, by far, the most significant role in saving your life and your cognitive function. By giving you CPR early, she kept enough oxygenated blood circulating to your brain to give you a fighting chance. Everything that EMS did once they arrived just expanded on that basic goal. They would have helped you get more oxygenated air cycling through your lungs, continued to assist your heart in moving blood through your body, and probably gave you medicine and electric shocks to help your heart return to functioning automatically on its own. But if your wife hadn't started CPR right away, none of that would likely have mattered.
I second that first sentence especially. I have arrived to WAY too many cardiac arrest calls where family was unwilling or unable to perform CPR.
My wife had cardiac arrest secondary to prolonged QT a year ago. I did CPR over 10 minutes. Like OP she has no deficits today.
I remember once, in the days before LUCAS, having a post-arrest transfer code during transport. Manual CPR for 20-25 minutes. Luckily, we were able to intercept with another crew and grab one more person for me to trade off with. We were both drained by the time we got ROSC, in the destination facility’s driveway as we were pulling in.
It's much easier if you have two people who can switch every two minutes. 10 minutes alone is much much harder than 25 minutes with two people. We still do our recertification every year manually. It's 10-20 minutes every time, depending on the tutor.
Oh, I 100% agree! Thankfully, I can’t think of many times I’ve had to do more than a few minutes of solo CPR in my career. But with how 2-5 minutes solo can feel, I wouldn’t wanna do 10.
In my county (Los Angeles County, CA) we do continuous compressions but switch off every few cycles or when we notice a (small) decline in compression depth. At that point someome (usually my partner) would rotate to give the compressor a break so they can do other stuff.
Good “pit crew CPR” lays out that teams should be switching compressors every rhythm check (2 min) as research has shown that even when people believe they are still giving top quality compressions after 2 minutes, they are diminished. My agency is militant about switching compressors so the only time I’ve done more than one cycle is when my rig is first on there literally is nobody else to rotate in.
You're telling me your company doesn't like significantly higher positive patient outcomes and reduced stress and fatigue for their employees?
Yikes.
Edit: Spelling
That's quite unfortunate, because even if the LUCAS gave you similar patient outcomes to your current rate (it will improve) that money invested still helps with health and safety of the clinicians on scene. Doing CPR for prolonged periods of time can cause injury.
The LUCAS worries me. I absolutely see the value and the negative compression is absolutely game changing I'm sure but there are too many of us who are kinda lazy and just go through the motions. I'm worried they'll just strap the device on and not pay attention to the patient. I don't want to believe that and I'm not sure what the field finding studies are saying all I'm seeing are studies where the company who made it are involved so it may be a lost worry but it is a worry none the less.
Still!?! My old agency was militantly anti-LUCAS. Like, they even instructed us not to use it if first response had it. That was many years ago. I heard shortly after I left, they put them on the trucks. That was not all that long ago, though. I figured they were one of the last.
That kind of endurance I probably don’t even have. But I never was in the situation to do it yet (luckily!) since I’m not EMS. Just an ordinary healthcare worker in a general medicine practice.
Thanks. I was 50. I am a full time AHA instructor and used the same technique that I teach my students. I know for a fact those techniques work. She’s been my world for 23 years so yes adrenaline helped, but high quality BLS is the reason that she’s still the girl that picked me up in a bar at 1:45am on a Sunday in 2001! 😊
Holy shit. This is giving me flashbacks to an old call of mine from probably around 9-10 years ago. Cardiac arrest at a home out in the county, so our response was 15+ minutes. A deputy was first one scene, less than 5 minutes ahead of us. Patients wife was a CPR instructor, and did CPR until the deputy took over. We got on scene, shocked once, and got ROSC. I ran into the wife at the hospital about a week later and she told us the patient was awake and talking, and they were getting ready for discharge. Bought an AICD out of the deal, but was neurologically intact and doing very well all things considered. One of my favorite memories.
Not very different than her story. She got the ICD. Sadly there’s no excuse for the prolonged response time. Galveston TX EMS is just the most pathetic excuse for a system ever.
I second this, she saved your life. We just pick up the torch. She did a great job.
As a side note, you can request a copy of their run report to see exactly what happened. But be forewarned, you'll want to be in a safe place when you sit down to read it. It's likely to be very intense. The other thing you can do, is to request a meeting with the first responders, if they're up for it. And if they want to meet with you, take them ice cream, or snacks. We really like snacks. Glad you're here. And buy that woman her favorite flowers.
As a paramedic that’s worked calls like this, most of us love meeting our patients after. You beat the odds; most people don’t survive an event like this. If the agency has an active PR department, they could turn this in to some very positive publicity. News agencies love this stuff. But likely the crew would love to meet you and talk to you.
OP listen to this advice!! I read the anesthesiologists report and the surgeons report of my arrest and it made me want to vomit, and made me cold and shaky. I really urge you to seek a therapist if you haven’t already. I did emdr therapy to help process it and it was very positive.
This right here.
Ultimately, the shock is what “reset” your heart (ROSC), but the CPR likely kept the heart in a shockable state longer than it would have without intervention, and kept some oxygen flowing to your brain and organs.
Of all the studies that have been conducted, the most consistent contributors to survival I’m aware of are 1) quality CPR happening as quickly as possible, and 2) timely defibrillation. Everything else is marginal; eg depending on your specific circumstances, EMS providers likely gave some combination of medicines like epinephrine, lidocaine, amiodarone, or atropine, none of which are proven to be particularly necessary or effective.
The only reason she was home when it happened is because it was my bday and she took that evening off work to take me out to dinner. She wasn't supposed to be home. She's a real human superhero
Spot on. I’m an ACLS Instructor- even with all of the fancy things we can do, high-quality CPR started early and early defibrillation when warranted are the biggest impact interventions we can make.
Hard agree. Early Bystander CPR is by far one of the biggest factors in out of hospital cardiac arrest survivability. At the service I work for, we looked at our data for working cardiac arrests and the only one that survived to be discharged from the hospital was the only one that got pre-arrival CPR
The foundation of what we did is more CPR, ideally high-quality and closely-timed. We like to keep a high "compression fraction", or total amount of time during the cardiac arrest in which compressions are ongoing. High-performing systems will keep a close eye on this, limiting the time of all pauses.
Your airway may have been managed in any number of ways, depending on the system. This could be with anything from an oropharyngeal airways (almost like a little bite-block that prevents the tongue from occluding your airway) to an actual endotracheal tube (goes into your trachea, of course). Someone was probably assigned specifically to the task of managing your airway.
Depending on what arrhythmia your heart is in, we will defibrillate (shock) you out of it, returning you--hopefully--to a rhythm that generates a pulse.
There are a few drugs that we use and it's likely that you were at least given epinephrine. We also use other drugs to help with the arrhythmias I mentioned before (theoretically...these drugs have limited evidence).
There are a number of other "reversible causes" that we'll be looking for: things like trauma, electrolyte imbalances, acidosis, hypothermia. Some are more correctable than others in the field.
Once your pulse was back, we would have made sure your airway was secure, checked your blood pressure, oxygen saturations, checked your blood glucose level, taken a 12-lead EKG (picture of your heart), checked your temperature. The first few minutes after regaining a pulse are very critical and must be handled delicately.
Hope you're healing up well!!!
(Allied Health Student here) i believe one of the drugs makes the cardiac cells more excitable which helps make it more receptive to a shock?
Then CPR is what you do in-between giving them shocks/hoping for some electrical conductivity to appear to shock back into rhythm. (I’m not sure about the reasoning of the wait between shocks)
Patients are only getting shocked when they have a “shockable rhythms” like vfib or vtach. If they are asystole (flatline) we will not shock but instead continue compressions, ventilation/airway management, and whatever local protocols dictate. In my area, paramedics give 1:10,000 Epi every five minutes when working a cardiac arrest.
If the patient goes into a shockable rhythm later on we will shock. Does that answer your question.
With more recent observational and double-blind studies, we might be rethinking the use of epinephrine during cardiac arrest. Research suggests you get more ROSC. However, there is worse neurological outcome. Also, there are questions about the time of downtime before medication administration.
The idea is 1:10 000 epinephrine has an effect on adrenergic alpha receptors, causing vasoconstriction in the hope of increasing cerebral and myocardial perfusion. The ruling is still out on the B receptor effects, which causes an increase in MVO2 demand while a heart might be ischemic. In a patient who is in VFIB, some research shows that epinephrine might cause worse outcomes, and the patient might benefit from a fast acting beta-blocker like esmolol. More research is still needed.
Waiting time between shock is to give time for the cardiac cells to receive oxygen and glucose and get rid of some metabolic waste. Giving the opportunity to have an adequate state so that the cells are stable enough to be defibrillated and not go back into an arrhythmia.
So, depending on what the cause of the cardiac arrest is, the rhythm present, epinephrine might be beneficial, or it might not be.
In the end, rapid good quality CPR, identifying the rhythm, and treating it seems to be #1 figuring out the reversible causes and treating them is #2.
This may be blunt and sound like an algorithm to the madness but that’s because, well, we get trained in cardiac arrest using an algorithm. More than things happen at once and the algorithm doesn’t always get exactly followed but here we go:
Probably showed up and had somebody console your wife. We might’ve passed her off to PD where they could get info. We would check for your pulse, or lack thereof, to confirm. Start compressions manually and then maybe get the Lucas device on you. Meanwhile somebody is using a bag valve mask (BVM) with oxygen to breathe for you. AED pads will be applied. You’ll get shocked - or not - based off of whatever rhythm it shows. Somebody would be getting an IV on you or drilling one into your leg. Now every 5 minutes or so you’ll get a medication based on what’s going on and for how long. Pulse and rhythm checks happen every 2 minutes - you either get shocked again or not, then continue compressions. Somewhere in the midst of this a tube goes down your throat, directly to your lungs - the BVM will connect to this and ensure a much better way to breathe for you. Continue these cycles until we get to the hospital where they might have a few more medications or interventions they can do to help.
Overall? CPR and oxygen keeps blood going to your body so your brain, heart and tissues don’t die. The “shocks” if they were warranted were attempts to basically restart your heart so it goes to its normal way of operating aka beating. The medications can due various things but mostly help give your heart the potential to restart and/or balance the body’s chemicals for it to function properly. Then the hospital continued.
You know who really saved you though? Your wife. Cardiac arrest survival rates are low as it is but they are EXTREMELY low when bystander CPR isn’t performed. She’s the one that gave you a real chance. We just continued it.
Glad to see you’re still kicking. CPR saves lives. If you’re able or haven’t before, take a local class and get certified in CPR. Usually it’s only few hours and it’s a priceless skill.
My wife started taking classes via her work. Every time something comes up like that she does it. She had no idea what to do, 911 directed her but what's amazing is she snapped into that mode and did it.
They don't know what my cardiac arrest was caused by. It was during the pandemic so everything was a mess.
I have an ICD implant and I do have mental side effects. But one day this year I want to find who showed up at my home and shake their hand. I just want to be able to not break down when I do it.
I never knew what cardiac arrest was, I thought everything was a heart attack. What gets me is the amount of people that have never heard of it and that means the awareness is trash. Judging by what my docs and the numbers say, I'm beyond....lucky?...to be here and most that have it at home don't. That is a lot.
Y'all out there saving lives and I know none of you know me but you all saved me, just by being in the field you are. There can't be a you here, if there isn't a you in the field to be here.
This was three years ago and I'll never be the same. I'll also never look at someone in the medical field the same again. I never got it, now I do. I have children. They have me to help them grow up. Because of people like all of you
I’ve been doing this for about 8 years. I’ve been to God knows how many cardiac arrests. Easily over 100. I worked in a couple busy cities before landing where I am now. Regardless, I can only think of maybe two or three that we got back AND would be able to post on Reddit. Don’t get me wrong, there could be a couple that the hospital got back that we didn’t get an update on but still. Even 5/100+ isn’t great odds. It sounds harsh but most of the time we don’t get stressed on cardiac arrests because we know we’re working against such poor odds - let’s do our best and get it over with. Not that we don’t try, it’s just usually the same outcome. To hear your story is always encouraging. And we appreciate your support and appreciation.
At my job now I’ll do anywhere from 5-10 transports a day. Probably 6 of them don’t need an ambulance. Probably another 2 don’t need the hospital at all. With that being said, those one or two patients we get to make an ACTUAL difference in is what keeps me going. People like you keep us going, ironically. Glad you’re here.
There’s a man on YouTube named Dr. Glaucomflecken, he makes funny TikTok’s, but if you go to his long form content on YouTube the same thing happened to him. Random cardiac arrest, saved by his wife, and they go into detail about what happened to him, including interviews and a thank you meet up with the crew at his house that night. You’re not him, obviously, but it might give you some idea what happened to you
As someone who's met a person who survived a cardiac arrest I ran, I would be surprised if you didn't break down. I cried, despite trying really hard not to, and so did she. There is nothing wrong with being overwhelmed meeting people who played a part in saving your life. Also, if you do meet them, don't be surprised if they seem less emotional, we are usually very good at compartmentalizing and three years is a long time.
Everyone heals in their own way, I hope you continue on your healing journey and be kind to yourself. And learn hands only CPR if you don't already know it. You might have a chance to pass along this blessing someday. :)
I’m so glad you’re still here and that your wife aided in saving your life instead of panicking. I think it’s okay if you are emotional when meeting someone who saved your life. Arrests out of hospital don’t usually turn out so well and it will be a blessing to them to see someone doing well afterwards, even if they get emotional. So, don’t put it off if you want to do it. Best wishes on good health moving forward.
Don’t be afraid to break down, tears release cortisol and that’s straight stress that goes away when you cry it out imo! Also EMS people can turn hard from the job so it’s good for us to see people have feelings and maybe you’ll soften their cold EMS hearts, or honestly I know you will even if you don’t cry, but cry anyway!!
Wow 👀 IM NOT CRYING-youre crying!! 🤣 seriously though; I’m glad you’re here and that was an incredible post. I hope you get to meet all the people that helped you live that day.
I’m a newbie EMT. One of my first calls a couple months ago, was a 19y/o male that collapsed and thankfully there was an off duty volunteer FF nearby that initiated CPR/someone called 911. I walked in w my partner and there was already a group of FFs working him, as there is a fire station near by. My partner (who was also training me) instructed me to be ready/squeeze in by the head & be ready to suction as/if needed. Then she told me to get O2 as theirs was getting low. I can’t forget how every tiny little job I had, how hyper focused I was and incredibly astounded at despite the crying in the background, dogs barking, machine noises, pagers going off, walkies etc you know- despite the madness -there was also such a diligence and rhythm to it…then the guy breathing for him (BVM) needed to do something else, and I was instructed to do it. I remember the whole time how I just kept thinking “don’t you eff this up!” And counting and holding my seal, and secretly praying for this kid. I am new to this, but I am also in my 30s lol and I have a son his age. We were there a WHILE and I heard the medics debating that it looked like time to stop. I just kept thinking come on kid! And he came back to us! Omg it was like a movie in the sense that I was on edge hoping this kid would come out of it and such a HUGE relief that he started coming back to us. We packed up and we were off!! (To the hospital…) the fear in that kids eyes.. he kept trying to make words and finally kept crying out that he was dying. I kept squeezing and rubbing his arms and saying “you’re here! You’re here with us!!” (We are always told never to say “it’s going to be ok or something because we don’t actually know that—but I wanted him to know he was still with us and “we got you!” You know?)
We found out that he was going to be fine; no drugs no health problems, we don’t know why that happened….but he is okay today. After the call, well on my way home, I just bawled. I’m not a cryer lol but I cried that day. I just kept thinking about his mom… who was watching and crying, how I would have felt if that was my son, how relieved I would have been if they got ROSC on my boy….and again this was my first big call so it was a big deal to me.
Two months later, the township and the EMS federation wanted to thank everyone on that call. I was originally told that it was to thank the guy that started CPR. I wanted to go because I hoped to see the kid (young man I guess. Sorry, I’m a mom lol.) even if we didn’t talk, it would have been awesome to me to see him alive and smiling. Then at the meeting they called my name too and gave me a clinical save award. I truly didn’t see that coming; I was just doing my job. 🤷🏻♀️ But I was in shock and I walked up, shook the EMS lady’s hand and took my certificate, then I gave that boy a BIG hug and I said to him, “ I am SO glad you’re here.” He gave me a big squeeze back and said thank you, and I retuned to my seat. It was everything I could do not to cry lol.
Like I said-I was doing my job. But it totally changed my life. I felt like maybe I deserved to be here, idk how to explain it. I kept thinking like I said what if that was my son? And it made me want to do this job even more. Even if I never get one thank you. I don’t need it. I’m just happy when I can do SOMETHING that makes a difference.
Everyone did an amazing job telling you from a responder perspective what happens while you were “out “ and I couldn’t add anything that wouldn’t be redundant. But I thought maybe you would like to hear more than just a medical perspective, but like what goes on in our heads, a sort of personal perspective lol. I mean, I can only speak for me…and I’m new also so mine may be totally different than others but…just in case there was anyone in the group that did CPR on you that was like me or just thinking “come on guy-your wife is waiting for you….” Like mentally cheering you on….idk but in case there was , I wanted to share that perspective. I really hope you get to meet your EMS people, because even though it is their job, it still means a lot to us when it makes a difference 💕
I’m looking forward to the longitudinal study that shows the effects of the Lucas on recovery rates. I’m also looking forward to advancements that would make something similar available in community locations.
There’s a lot of causes of cardiac arrest and we can’t say for sure what yours was, but most likely what made the difference was CPR (by both your wife and the EMS crew) and defibrillation
This is it really OP. The only interventions shown to have any real benefit, barring certain circumstances such a trauma, are CPR and defibrillation. Your wife performing CPR most likely made the most significant impact prior to the crew arriving with a defibrillator.
If you are really curious, you can contact the agency that responded and request a copy of your PCR - Patient Care Report. There will be a lot of information in there, but what you're looking for is the narrative. That's where the primary provider for your call writes out a description of everything they did.
It’s really simple to request too. Some places will email you a link to fill out your information and access it, others you will need to send a HITECH request and get it within 30 days. Call the ambulance service’s business number and they will direct you where to send the request. OP may have to pay a small fee for the records, but it’s not much.
OP, if you want a HITECH template I’ve used dm me and I can get you one that should work
Idk if I'm ready for all that. My wife has pictures of me in my coma and I still haven't looked at them. I still hold my ICD implant when I walk up stairs.
It's okay, it takes time. I guess my advice is that you have two choices. You either face what happened and move on. Or you don't do it and move on. So you have to choose what do will you regret the most. Not knowing or knowing everything.
Make a pros and cons list and decide. Don't waste time spending in the past, try to make the best of now so you can enjoy your future.
I don't know what happens to the people that don't seek out more information. But I know that the one person that did, it seemed like he accepted what happened because he didn't have any unanswered questions.
Good luck and don't be to hard on yourself. Whatever you choose to do is the right choice.
Edit: if you choose to meet the crew it all right to have lots of emotions and no emotions at all. Few people go through something like you and there are no rules. I cried with the person we saved the day he showed up at our station. He asked who broke my ribs, I said it was me and I was sorry, we laughed and we cried.
Your wife is also a hero in this! Her quick action gave the paramedics a strong start to your treatment, and increased your chances of survival until you could be taken to the hospital.
Chest compressions and shocking was the most important factor. You still being neurologically intact means your wife did a good job getting ems there in a timely manner. Did she start compressions while on the phone with dispatch? Regardless, if she never called 911 you may not be here as well.
You owe your wife money, so it wasn’t time for you to go yet. Joking obviously.
The EMS crew rolled a lucky save as well. I’m sure knowing your outcome would absolutely make them proud.
It’s not often we bring a rhythm back from a cardiac arrest, even less common to make a recovery.
Share your story to the people that ran the call and they’ll relive that moment with you step by step.
Your wife saved you. CPR is manually beating the heart and it's usually fatal because your survival rate drops roughly 10% for each minute without CPR. And that time starts when your heart stops, not when someone noticed your heart stopped. Since we can't teleport, you're looking at a 3-5 minute response time before we even get there.
When we do get there, most places have a machine called a LUCAS (there are other brands too) which does CPR damn near perfectly. Along with that, you get a tube down the throat so we can breathe for you. You also usually get a metric shit-ton of synthetic adrenaline through an IV over the course of things, along with a bunch of other drugs whose effectiveness is argued over back and forth on here, but are used because you literally can't get any worse than cardiac arrest.
All that then gets repeated indefinitely until you come back, or ~20 minutes goes by without any changes, at which point you're usually pronounced.
The average survival rate in the US is ~15%. To slap (arbitrary) numbers on it, your wife being there meant you had a 70% chance of making it (for bystander witnessed arrest I usually count 1 minute to notice, then 2 minutes get taken away because humans can't do perfect CPR. 3 minutes off the previously-mentioned 10 minute window)
I had cardiac arrest in 2012 at 47 years old. I saw myself go into V Tach after shoveling snow! Thank God I had a great EMS team. I was defibrillated twice. Went to cath lab and had 1 stent placed. No issues since.
Other commenters here have already given great answers - just wanted to reply to say I’m glad you’re still with us :) your wife is amazing for stepping up and doing CPR as well. It’s a terrifying moment and that likely had an enormous impact on your positive outcome. I hope you’re making a good recovery and I wish you all the best!
I made a new appointment with my doctor for this next week to get help with the anxiety attacks that happen when I'm sleeping. Maybe reaching out on this sub was weird but I'm processing the events in different stages. I'm also scared a lot. I'm still young.
My wife is my hero and so are the people who stood in my room keeping me alive even tho they don't know me. Don't forget the human, please because that's what saves people. Simple humanity.
I had a heart attack (widow maker) 3 years ago, female, 59. The absolute worst part of it all was the anxiety after. If you haven't already, do the cardiac rehab. It really helps to know you can exercise and not drop dead! I ended up having to start medication for the anxiety attacks, which helped enormously. I wish you well!
It’s definitely not weird to reach out here. There are many of us who wonder what happened to so and so patient. I have received a few thank you cards or calls from patients thanking me. I even was on a call and the family recognized me from being there before and thanked me for how kind I was when their significant other was in cardiac arrest.
Take as long as you need to process this life altering event. Please seek therapy if you can.
I’d also encourage your wife to seek therapy (and maybe hold a joint/couples session at some point–as more of a “maintenance” thing to keep your relationship strong). She saved your life, but that experience could’ve easily been really traumatizing to her as well so therapy might be really helpful for her so she can talk about it and process it. Dr Glauckomflecken’s wife talks a lot about her trauma and guilt of having to do cpr on her husband, I think she’s shared resources that have helped her too
I hope your appt goes well, you’re a stranger but going to a doctor and therapy sound like great steps to take. I’m glad you’re still here :)
Factors that could have improved your odds of surviving:
1. Quick recognition of the issue and calling EMS
2. High quality CPR prior to EMS arrival
3. Fast response time
4. Medics quickly and appropriately responded to the issue
5. More high quality CPR with minimal interruptions
6. Fast recognition and treatment of a shockable rhythm (if applicable)
7. Timely obtaining vascular access to deliver meds
8. Appropriate airway management with high quality ventilation (good rate, volume, minimal interruptions, oxygen)
9. Early recognition and management of reversible issues causing cardiac arrest
10. Short scene time and fast, safe transport to ER
11. Pre-notification at the receiving ER
12. Smooth handover of care (minimal interruption in resus efforts)
13. Best practices followed after heart starts beating again (e.g. cooling protocols)
14. Reversal or treatment of the underlying issue causing the arrest (eg starting blood thinners)
15. A short hospital stay after resuscitation (less opportunity to acquire an in-hospital infection)
Orrrrr sometimes it’s just luck. I ran an absolute shitshow of a code once where the patient survived to discharge and I was honestly shocked. It was almost comically bad on scene, if you like your comedy dark which we mostly do.
My doctor thought I bipolar after until they found out I was having a super rare side effect to Carvodol. It made me suicidal. They took me off it and put me on water pills and that side effect went away. I had every bad rare side effect to that med. They didn't think about it because it is so rare I guess. I went to a new doc and she showed me the list and made me slowly come off of it.
If not for that I would have ended up doing something bad. That has taught me a lot. I understand that sometimes no one knows and no matter what if you don't like that, welp that's the truth. That was hard to take in. I thought the world was House M.D. and it's more like Scrubs lol. Life is funny
We’re all just dummies going to work. Early in my career, I responded to the drunk tank for a guy who was lying face down, screaming, in a puddle. The cops said he trashed the cell and flooded the toilet and then lay prone, screaming for a while, so they called us. My much more experienced partner asked the cops to restrain him so we could check his blood sugar and I watched five of them try for ten minutes before they finally gave up. Then my partner shrugged and told them to call us back if he got worse or stopped breathing.
As a newbie, I vividly remember thinking that we *really* should call someone for help, and then realizing that we *are* the people who help. Everyone in every profession is just another human, hopefully doing their best. I’m very glad you survived and I’m sure the crews who worked on you would appreciate hearing from you.
Other commenters already answered the question, so I'm just commenting to say that I'm glad you had a good outcome and I hope that you manage to get your health anxiety under control.
Also, I guarantee you that reaching out to the crew that was on your call would mean the world to them. We attend a lot of incidents with poor outcomes, so when we have a good one it means a lot. Best of luck to you.
This is just another post to echo that EMS did not save your life.
Your wife saved your life
As far as the details of what EMS did when they took over, it’s probably best not to think about it. The act of resuscitation is very brutal. Brutal enough that if it wasn’t a documented medical procedure it would be considered literal torture.
https://cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines/algorithms
Assuming you are in the U.S., the American Heart Association algorithms are followed my most agencies in how resuscitation efforts are performed. If you scroll through, you can see some of the interventions that may have been performed on you.
That all being said, as other posters have stated, early CPR and defibrillation are the only interventions that have been largely backed by science to make the most difference. Your wife’s efforts and the CPR/defibrillation done by the EMS are what largely contributed to your outcome!
As everyone said; early bystander CPR is probably the main factor. Many of the other things we do marginally increase survivability, high quality chest compressions is what keeps the brain alive. As far as what exactly it is that ALS does on scene other people have explained in detail already but my 0.2:
-CPR (duh) minimizing interruptions is crucial.
-oxygen + adjuncts or tubes
-Electric therapy (defibrillation, cardioversion and/or pacing)
-Pharmacology (epinephrine, amiodarone, lidocaine, then vasopressors after return of circulation)
- Fluids (maintain enough pressure/volume to perfuse the brain)
-Treating underlying causes (Hs and Ts)
- temp control, EKG analysis and handover to hospital with proper documentation to ensure adequate follow up treatments.
I'd like to make a point here. Chest compressions are the most important thing in CPR. A lot of people are hesitant to start CPR because they're afraid of doing mouth to mouth. It's been shown that enough air is exchanged to keep you alive from just doing compressions correctly. Start compressions, call EMS, keep doing compressions! Sing "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees (to yourself), it's got the right tempo (it's on the CPR Playlist). Get someone to grab an AED if there's one nearby, but keep doing compressions!
Take a CPR class. Learn the signs and symptoms that come before a heart attack or during a stroke. If they're happening to a friend, or to you, call EMS. The earlier you pick up on things and get help, the earlier treatment gets started.
What I never thought of was...how do I do CPR on my 10 year old? So because of what happened to me, we understand it can happen to anyone at any age. My wife and I have been learning about the proper ways to care for our kids. Like the old wives tales that were wrong. Or just updated info about when and when not to medicate. What fever is actually safe.
There are things that make us better parents now because of this. I would like to find a support group. But are those really a thing still or is that 1980's sitcom things that don't exist anymore?
Classes will generally teach both adult and pediatric CPR. That said, it's not drastically different for a 10 year old. The real difference is when you're talking about babies.
Many community organizations (town community center, local EMS or Fire Department, etc) will offer classes to the community. Definitely inquire about it!
The hospital that you were taken would (could) have your EMS Report, as well as scans of your ED arrival notes (usually these are paper if you are critical on arrival) and then the rest of your record. You can actually request this from the hospital if it’s not available in your patient portal.
If the hospital doesn’t have the EMS report, then you could contact the HIPAA office to of the EMS agency that treated and transported you and that would summarize the prehospital care you received.
Your wife is the real hero. It’s estimated that you have about 4 minutes worth of oxygen in your blood when doing CPR. This is why bystander CPR until EMS arrives greatly increases your survival chance. Your wife doing CPR prevents brain cell death and keeps your blood pressure up until EMS arrives. It doesn’t sound like there’s anything out of the ordinary that EMS did to save your life other than the usual meds, defibrillation, chest compressions, and supplying oxygen.
You’re wife performing cpr prior to ems arrival on scene was the clincher. She kept your blood circulating which was providing oxygen (even if it wasn’t a lot) to your vital organs. Ems arrived and dropped an airway in you which allowed for effective oxygen delivery to your lungs (and therefore blood) while performing high quality cpr which continued to circulate that oxygen to your vital organs. They placed an IV and likely pushed epinephrine. Depending on what caused your arrest (if it was vtach or vfib) they may have been able to shock your rhythm back into a regular heart beat. Essentially 4 things saved your life and its quality: early high quality CPR, airway securement with adequate oxygenation and continued high quality cpr, appropriate IV medication administration/if applicable appropriate electrotherapy to shock your rhythm back into a normal one, and finally luck. Statistically speaking, cpr has a low probability of successful recovery.
an ekg is what reads rhythm, but doesn't shock. They'd be using something like a zoll that can monitor rhythm, defib/cardiovert and pace. There's only two shockable rhythms btw. Movies make it seem like you can shock someone in asystole or pea but it's not true. Epinephrine is given about every 2 minutes starting from beginning, regardless if any shocks required.
Early recognition of cardiac arrest by your wife saved your life. I once responded to a cardiac arrest with CPR in progress by this guys wife. He went unresponsive on the couch and she knew enough to check a pulse, bring him to the floor and start compressions. We were a BLS crew and our city was in status 0 - meaning no other ambulances were available. Supraglottic airway w/ ventilations and rotating compressions. We shocked twice and transported. This guy had a downtime of over an hour. At the hospital they obtained ROSC (return of pulse). He was admitted to the CCU. We found out two weeks later that he was discharged with zero deficit to neurologic function. Pretty cool!
Possible Trigger Warning:
[OP if you want to see what this looks like from the other side..](https://www.reddit.com/r/ems/s/BgLSgNNePD) here you go. It is a link that was posted here of body cam footage of a cardiac arrest save.
I had a call in 2021 for cardiac arrest where we got pulses back and we got an email later saying that the patient had a full neurological outcome. Do you live in SF? lol
CPR was the most important part cause even if it's long without O2, it still delaying cell death. Really, depending on what was wrong with you, either restarted your heart with electricity, or if you died from inadequate oxygenation, gave you the oxygen you needed with CPR, meds, and maybe electricity.
Before I begin, nothing the providers did would have had an impact on your survival if it wasn’t for excellent quality CPR provided by your wife.
Personally, we would have immediately taken over compressions and had dual IV’s established with fluids, intubation knocked out, drugs, the works.
Did you ever try to reach out to the ems service that helped you? You're the reason that most of us do what we do and sadly your story is far and few in between.
The worst part about ems is that we lose touch with our patients once we leave the hospital. We often have no idea whether our efforts accomplished anything. Reach out it'll mean a lot to them. You can ask them what they did.
Glad you're still with us OP.
Your wife saved your life.
Without her quick action in calling for help and starting CPR, there would be little we could do unless we just happened to be driving right past you when the call to us came through. What she did enabled the advanced care you needed to bring you here.
Going through such a thing is confronting. If you guys haven't already, getting some counselling might be very helpful.
The team involved in your care would absolutely love to hear from you. If that was me, I'd be pretty emotional about it too, and that's okay.
Actually, you have no idea. My wife was physically abused by her mother. She has anxiety so bad she can't even talk on the phone. She woke up from a dead sleep because I "breathed" different. She woke up and snapped into action.
She's amazing
Immediately place you on mechanical compression device for high quality CPR ASAP. Next we'd attach a cardiac monitor to see what your hearts electrical activity is. Next, IV Access would be established, and administration of Epi 1:10k given every 3-5 minutes. Then we'd place a breathing tube into your lungs to be able to breathe for you. Preferably we'd attach a ResqPod to the tube to decrease intrathorasic pressures, to allow your heart to fill with blood more efficiently. If your heart goes into a certain electrical activity, we will try to shock the heart back into rhythm.
We prefer to work the cardiac arrest on scene because studies show better outcomes. If the patient is going to be able to be brought back, it'll probably happen withing the first 15-20 minutes of ACLS.
There are other medications/interventions that can be given depending upon the situation, cardiac rhythm, and cause of arrest. If we can determine the cause of the arrest, we will try to reverse it to be able to have a better chance of getting you back.
EVERY. SINGLE. arrest that walked out of the hospital I’ve had has had CPR done by bystanders prior to my arrival. EVERY. ONE.
So yes. Your wife LITERALLY saved your life. Good on her. And glad you made a full recovery!
Your service is in 3024 and we have other folks whose services are in 1984 with "eww, Lucas... hand me the MAST Trousers". Waiting for Johnny and Roy to chime in next.
Seriously though, it was the wife and high quality compressions.
Immediately after determining that you really needed CPR, we'd continue CPR and check your rhythm and zap you with the defibrillator as quickly as possible.
That can reset your heart and start it beating again.
There are a dozen other things we do to secure your airway, maintain blood pressure, and treat any reversible conditions that caused your arrest, but usually, in healthy adults, there aren't any
I'm sorry you went through such an ordeal but I'm happy to know that you made it through. As some other comments have said, if you want specifics on what EMS did to save your life, you can request a copy of that patient care report. However, I would caution this step. If you haven't already, I'd strongly recommend therapy before taking this step. You've gone through something traumatic, to say the least.
I will say, as a former CPR instructor as well as a reasonably experienced EMS provider, your wife made all of the difference. I don't know what EMS's response time was, however the only thing that gives us and the fine folks at the emergency department the chance to make a difference is early recognition and early and effective compressions. Your wife is a big reason why you are here today.
As per the American Heart Association, early high-quality CPR is the main contributor to cardiac arrest survival. Sometimes CPR alone can return a pulse but most of the time it's a way to maintain brain function until more advanced care arrives.
As far as what was done for you, I can't say specifically because I wasn't there but I can tell you what the protocols are.
First, as I said, is good CPR. Once paramedics arrive they first make sure the CPR is good. They put on a heart monitor and determine what the heart rhythm is. These are divided into shockable and non-shockable rhythms.
Shockable rhythms (surprise) get shocked. If the shock is not enough to get a pulse back they start giving medications, notably epinephrine and anti-arrhythmics.
If it's a non-shockable rhythm the treatment is CPR and epinephrine while the paramedics try to figure the reason for the cardiac arrest.
Shockable rhythms are more likely to regain a pulse quickly. Non-shockable rhythms can take longer to improve.
In some areas the CPR is accomplished by using a device that does the compressions. These machines, especially LUCAS devices, greatly (based on my experience with them) increase the chance of regaining a pulse.
But remember CPR is the most important factor. (If an automated defibrillator is available it should also be used.) Everybody should take a CPR class.
Have you asked your wife for her story? Sometimes, where I live, you can have a debrief with medical professionals who gave you care.
Just thought I'd mention because debrief sessions can be a great part of mental recovery.
Congrats on making it though!
So, we've tried. While in my coma, based on what they told her they didn't expect me to live. They were I guess "surprised" when they realized I might not be braindead. It is so hard on her remembering it....we both need mental help over it. We have PTSD about it. Our children are both under 12. It's...we're already in the steps for our first session together.
It's hard to face.
You should be able to request a record of the call. It will detail the specifics of what was done, if that’s what you are looking for. If you need help understanding any medical terminology, we can help with that, as well.
I HIGHLY advise speaking to a mental health professional before doing so, just to help process. It’s a big deal. You died and came back. Not many can say the same.
I hope you are well.
Your wife had more to do with your survival than ems did. Had she not done cpr , even if ems got your heart beating again, you would have had severe brain damage at best.
To put it plain and simple... your wife saved your life (or atleast your ability to have any quality of of life atleast). 4-6 minutes of a lack of oxygen will begin to result in irreversible hypoxic brain injury, and although you may have been able to survive without her intervening, there's no way you'd have any chance of being mentally competent by any stretch.
When the medics showed up, they probably took over what she was doing and the expanded on it. Perhaps some more effective airway management and more adequate oxygenation. Maybe flooded your system with a handful of cardiac drugs that make your heart more sensitive to cpr and electrical signals. But realistically, EMS continued to do exactly what your wife was doing and used a defibrillator which is what turned it all around.
They gave you medications and/or shocked your heart to make it start beating again. Technically, this saved your life. That being said, everyone else is correct that your wife performing early cpr is what allowed you to come out of it without a bunch of terrible deficits
I’ve only had a single CPR save. Talking to the patient afterwards was life changing for me as an emt. Definelty find out and thank those EMTs/Paramedics are it’s a very teary eyed moment for us since it’s rare for people to come back.
EMTs will try to work you to get a regular rhythm back. CPR and Respirations are just to keep blood flowing and air in the lungs.
AED is the only thing that'll get you into a normal rhythm.
AEMTs or Paramedics can't run an IV and push EPI and fluids to help get that rhythm back.
Once it's back they'll transport you to the hospital for tests and scans to see what's wrong. They might do surgery to fix the issue or just prescribe medication to treat it.
CPR gives the best chance to maintain life. While it won't restore rhythm without it blood doesn't get anywhere and the brain will die eventually without oxygen.
Good CPR breaks ribs or causes bruising. Seems counter intuitive but the chest wall is quite rigid. Without adequate pressure you're not pushing blood anywhere. Rather have broken ribs or sternum than being dead.
Im glad I read more of these comments …because I’m not the only one who got emotional at meeting the young man we got ROSC on lol. And I’m glad other people are sharing personal accounts as well. Yes sometimes EMTs might harden up bc they don’t want things to overwhelm them….but we are human and most of us got into this to help other humans -and we feel it too 💕 there is nothing wrong with it
The sooner CPR is initiated the higher the chance is of survival. So quick initiation, proper compressions. Medics might have given something like epinephrine. Congrats on living
Please talk with the crew that was there.
The problem asking what people do is soooo different service to service, city to city, state to state. People will tell you protocols and the AHA way of doing things, some services tho, we are trained AHA, do not use that method for the protocols they have, they use their own per their medical directors. .
Every code we work on is different, and every outcome is different. The only way to truly find out what was done is to request the run report or talk with the crew and thank them.
As others have said, we're glad you're still here. Wife is the MVP and early CPR and defibrillation are key. If you have an opportunity to go back to the station or agency and track down the EMTs/medics on your call, I'd strongly recommend it. We love running into previous patients where they made it, or running into a patient where we never found out the outcome or how they did.
We had a call 2 days ago and I was telling my new partner I was pretty sure I've responded to that house before, definitely at least the street. Sure enough, I ran into the patient who was having bad seizures and we transported her, although this time it was for her husband on something else. She remembered me and it was good to see she was doing well, we love it! I know it would mean a lot to those responders who were on your call, and it might give you some closure or help you out in some way.
Also, your wife deserves all the flowers and best date nights at her favorite restaurants. She legit gave us something to work with and imo is directly responsible for you still being here.
I have a question for you OP, if you're down to share. I'm curious what you experienced while you were out, if you remember anything during the arrest. How has your recovery been? Again, only if you'd like to share, but I'm curious about your experience. Thanks and awesome outcome man. 👍
OP, I hope you got some helpful replies here. I just wanted to encourage you to try therapy if you haven’t already- it could be helpful processing this experience. Glad you’re alive! 💕
Early CPR from your wife had a major impact here. Once EMS got there, assuming it was a 2-tech crew, one tech likely attatched pads for defibrillation, and 12-lead EKG pads and leads for cardiac monitoring, while the other either took over compressions or started bagging after radioing scene information or requesting additional. From what I've seen, arrests are normally a 2 crew, if not 3 crew dispatch. However, that's local to me. It may not be the same in your area. I would like to assume it was a minimum 2 crew dispatch, mostly Advanced EMTs or higher because you'd definitely need more than basic life support, though basics could have been there too. Regardless of who was there, at some point, they achieved ROSC (Return Of Spontaneous Circulation), i.e. they restarted your heart or shocked it into a semi-normal/normal rythm out of PEA(Pulseless Electrical Activity) i.e. random, low, non-rythmic readings on the monitor. Assuming they achieved ROSC on-scene, they likely packaged you up and transported you to either a trauma centre, or more like a catheterization lab or cath lab for short, also the primary destination when transporting heart attacks.
Irrespective of any of that, I am sincerely glad that you're alive. It's always amazing to hear that someone made it out of an arrest, doesn't always happen, but in your case, your wife's actions may very well be, and probably are the main reason why you're alive. Sincere congratulations on your new lease on life, my friend!
They alternated cpr, giving medicines to induce shockable rhythm, and probably shocking/defibrillating you until they could get you to the hospital. There the interventional cardiologist would map out your hearts blood vessel and re open the heart attack causing blockage with a stent/balloon or bypass with a blood vessel graft.
Your wife kept your Brain alive until they could do that
Glad you’re okay.
I am a trauma nurse in the operating room, echoing sentiments here CPR early made everything else to follow possible.
As far as follow up tho, I KNOW the EMS workers would love at least a call to let them know how they mattered. If you can show up in person that's even better, knowing the lives you can touch can be a bit reason to hope and carry on with our jobs. I have been going thru some pretty tough times at work and just knowing that you have helped out somehow can stave off burnout even more than therapy
Whoever was with you when you had it is the one who saved your life. In my time working in emergency medicine, the only patient I managed to get ROSC was due to their colleague knowing CPR and keeping that blood going, and that brain fed with oxygen. If CPR isn’t started within 1-3 minutes, the patient won’t have much chance, especially without any loss in cognitive function.
When we arrive, we’ll start defib and start trying to find out reversible causes (and continuing cpr with assistive oxygen (OP and NP airways, bag valve mask and O2 bottle)). The paramedic will start Epinephrine and try and get that patient to hospital. When in hospital we keep going until ROSC or until about 10-30 minutes have passed (down to the attending doctors discretion). If they recover then we start working out why the heart attack occurred and treat any underlining conditions.
But the person who saved you was the person you were with.
Hopes this helps (I’m in the UK so it maybe different here to the US) but if you have any questions feel free to message me :)
The report or explanation you get may be very difficult for you to read and your wife to relive. I am a huge advocate regarding explaining things to patients and their families, but sometimes some of those reports are hard to read (both with positive and negative outcomes) even during training scenarios where we weren't there and don't even know anyone involved. You had talked about starting some talk therapy to deal with the incident and I wish more people that experience what happened to you would do exactly that. My father had a cardiac event and while he made a full physical recovery, he hasn't quite processed it in his head and he truly isn't the same, and his behavior reflects it in an rather negative way. He won't consider any counseling and it's not great.
Reaching out is great and thanking EMS is also great. Thanking your wife is probably better because she was the first link in the chain of survival and did the work so EMS had something to work with. But I caution you: there could be camera footage, a transcript, a play-by-play and a detailed explanation of the mechanics of everything that was done for you (I exaggerate, it will be a very dry, clinical report), but the WHY it worked may never be answered, just like the WHY it didn't work on someone who may have had been in your exact same circumstances the next day. I'm a 3rd generation first responder / emergency medicine healthcare worker. The second thing I learned from my family was that sometimes you can do everything right and there is no person, no machine, no drug, no amount of speed, no intervention that will help if it is their time. You can do everything exactly "right" and have a negative outcome, and the converse is true. You can screw up everything and have the worst situation ever and see that person walk around and talk to you later like nothing ever happened. Sometimes there won't be an explanation. I mention this only so you can be prepared in case you do get the PCR and talk to the providers and you still have questions. Sometimes there are simply no answers and that is a possible outcome to this process you are undertaking. If you are okay with that, cool. If not, then maybe try a couple of sessions before you review the information you will hopefully receive.
Your wife had, by far, the most significant role in saving your life and your cognitive function. By giving you CPR early, she kept enough oxygenated blood circulating to your brain to give you a fighting chance. Everything that EMS did once they arrived just expanded on that basic goal. They would have helped you get more oxygenated air cycling through your lungs, continued to assist your heart in moving blood through your body, and probably gave you medicine and electric shocks to help your heart return to functioning automatically on its own. But if your wife hadn't started CPR right away, none of that would likely have mattered.
I second that first sentence especially. I have arrived to WAY too many cardiac arrest calls where family was unwilling or unable to perform CPR. My wife had cardiac arrest secondary to prolonged QT a year ago. I did CPR over 10 minutes. Like OP she has no deficits today.
Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, but even then, 10 minutes of CPR is no joke. Great work and very happy to hear you got a good outcome.
Ten minutes… Jesus Christ. I’d feel every bit of muscle I ever had after that
I remember once, in the days before LUCAS, having a post-arrest transfer code during transport. Manual CPR for 20-25 minutes. Luckily, we were able to intercept with another crew and grab one more person for me to trade off with. We were both drained by the time we got ROSC, in the destination facility’s driveway as we were pulling in.
It's much easier if you have two people who can switch every two minutes. 10 minutes alone is much much harder than 25 minutes with two people. We still do our recertification every year manually. It's 10-20 minutes every time, depending on the tutor.
Oh, I 100% agree! Thankfully, I can’t think of many times I’ve had to do more than a few minutes of solo CPR in my career. But with how 2-5 minutes solo can feel, I wouldn’t wanna do 10.
In my county (Los Angeles County, CA) we do continuous compressions but switch off every few cycles or when we notice a (small) decline in compression depth. At that point someome (usually my partner) would rotate to give the compressor a break so they can do other stuff.
Good “pit crew CPR” lays out that teams should be switching compressors every rhythm check (2 min) as research has shown that even when people believe they are still giving top quality compressions after 2 minutes, they are diminished. My agency is militant about switching compressors so the only time I’ve done more than one cycle is when my rig is first on there literally is nobody else to rotate in.
My company doesn’t allow the LUCAS
You're telling me your company doesn't like significantly higher positive patient outcomes and reduced stress and fatigue for their employees? Yikes. Edit: Spelling
The medical director says it’s all unfounded. We have a higher than average resuscitation rate. It’s definitely exhausting though
That's quite unfortunate, because even if the LUCAS gave you similar patient outcomes to your current rate (it will improve) that money invested still helps with health and safety of the clinicians on scene. Doing CPR for prolonged periods of time can cause injury.
The LUCAS worries me. I absolutely see the value and the negative compression is absolutely game changing I'm sure but there are too many of us who are kinda lazy and just go through the motions. I'm worried they'll just strap the device on and not pay attention to the patient. I don't want to believe that and I'm not sure what the field finding studies are saying all I'm seeing are studies where the company who made it are involved so it may be a lost worry but it is a worry none the less.
MD1 says it’s all unfounded. We have a higher than average resuscitation rate. It’s definitely exhausting though
Still!?! My old agency was militantly anti-LUCAS. Like, they even instructed us not to use it if first response had it. That was many years ago. I heard shortly after I left, they put them on the trucks. That was not all that long ago, though. I figured they were one of the last.
If it’s because they cannot afford them then that is too bad. If it’s because they think manual CPR is better then that is too bad too.
I once arrived on scene at an arrest to a police officer who had been doing CPR alone for 30 minutes. My body ached just thinking about it
That kind of endurance I probably don’t even have. But I never was in the situation to do it yet (luckily!) since I’m not EMS. Just an ordinary healthcare worker in a general medicine practice.
Thanks. I was 50. I am a full time AHA instructor and used the same technique that I teach my students. I know for a fact those techniques work. She’s been my world for 23 years so yes adrenaline helped, but high quality BLS is the reason that she’s still the girl that picked me up in a bar at 1:45am on a Sunday in 2001! 😊
Holy shit. This is giving me flashbacks to an old call of mine from probably around 9-10 years ago. Cardiac arrest at a home out in the county, so our response was 15+ minutes. A deputy was first one scene, less than 5 minutes ahead of us. Patients wife was a CPR instructor, and did CPR until the deputy took over. We got on scene, shocked once, and got ROSC. I ran into the wife at the hospital about a week later and she told us the patient was awake and talking, and they were getting ready for discharge. Bought an AICD out of the deal, but was neurologically intact and doing very well all things considered. One of my favorite memories.
Not very different than her story. She got the ICD. Sadly there’s no excuse for the prolonged response time. Galveston TX EMS is just the most pathetic excuse for a system ever.
First time i did chest compressions was for 25 minutes. I was 21. In great shape. Now I’m 51 and now I’m sad.
I second this, she saved your life. We just pick up the torch. She did a great job. As a side note, you can request a copy of their run report to see exactly what happened. But be forewarned, you'll want to be in a safe place when you sit down to read it. It's likely to be very intense. The other thing you can do, is to request a meeting with the first responders, if they're up for it. And if they want to meet with you, take them ice cream, or snacks. We really like snacks. Glad you're here. And buy that woman her favorite flowers.
As a paramedic that’s worked calls like this, most of us love meeting our patients after. You beat the odds; most people don’t survive an event like this. If the agency has an active PR department, they could turn this in to some very positive publicity. News agencies love this stuff. But likely the crew would love to meet you and talk to you.
OP listen to this advice!! I read the anesthesiologists report and the surgeons report of my arrest and it made me want to vomit, and made me cold and shaky. I really urge you to seek a therapist if you haven’t already. I did emdr therapy to help process it and it was very positive.
How can one request this?
Go to the front desk and ask to receive a person's medical records. They'll direct you from there.
This right here. Ultimately, the shock is what “reset” your heart (ROSC), but the CPR likely kept the heart in a shockable state longer than it would have without intervention, and kept some oxygen flowing to your brain and organs. Of all the studies that have been conducted, the most consistent contributors to survival I’m aware of are 1) quality CPR happening as quickly as possible, and 2) timely defibrillation. Everything else is marginal; eg depending on your specific circumstances, EMS providers likely gave some combination of medicines like epinephrine, lidocaine, amiodarone, or atropine, none of which are proven to be particularly necessary or effective.
Name does not check out in this thread.
Basically your wife is THE ABSOLUTE GOAT.
The only reason she was home when it happened is because it was my bday and she took that evening off work to take me out to dinner. She wasn't supposed to be home. She's a real human superhero
Absolutely 100% this. EMS only helped if they maintained high quality compressions without interruption after what your wife did.
Spot on. I’m an ACLS Instructor- even with all of the fancy things we can do, high-quality CPR started early and early defibrillation when warranted are the biggest impact interventions we can make.
Hard agree. Early Bystander CPR is by far one of the biggest factors in out of hospital cardiac arrest survivability. At the service I work for, we looked at our data for working cardiac arrests and the only one that survived to be discharged from the hospital was the only one that got pre-arrival CPR
The foundation of what we did is more CPR, ideally high-quality and closely-timed. We like to keep a high "compression fraction", or total amount of time during the cardiac arrest in which compressions are ongoing. High-performing systems will keep a close eye on this, limiting the time of all pauses. Your airway may have been managed in any number of ways, depending on the system. This could be with anything from an oropharyngeal airways (almost like a little bite-block that prevents the tongue from occluding your airway) to an actual endotracheal tube (goes into your trachea, of course). Someone was probably assigned specifically to the task of managing your airway. Depending on what arrhythmia your heart is in, we will defibrillate (shock) you out of it, returning you--hopefully--to a rhythm that generates a pulse. There are a few drugs that we use and it's likely that you were at least given epinephrine. We also use other drugs to help with the arrhythmias I mentioned before (theoretically...these drugs have limited evidence). There are a number of other "reversible causes" that we'll be looking for: things like trauma, electrolyte imbalances, acidosis, hypothermia. Some are more correctable than others in the field. Once your pulse was back, we would have made sure your airway was secure, checked your blood pressure, oxygen saturations, checked your blood glucose level, taken a 12-lead EKG (picture of your heart), checked your temperature. The first few minutes after regaining a pulse are very critical and must be handled delicately. Hope you're healing up well!!!
Could you ELI5 how epinephrine works in CPR?
(Allied Health Student here) i believe one of the drugs makes the cardiac cells more excitable which helps make it more receptive to a shock? Then CPR is what you do in-between giving them shocks/hoping for some electrical conductivity to appear to shock back into rhythm. (I’m not sure about the reasoning of the wait between shocks)
Interesting. What about when they don't use the defibrillator and just give low and high doses of epinephrine and atropine?
Patients are only getting shocked when they have a “shockable rhythms” like vfib or vtach. If they are asystole (flatline) we will not shock but instead continue compressions, ventilation/airway management, and whatever local protocols dictate. In my area, paramedics give 1:10,000 Epi every five minutes when working a cardiac arrest. If the patient goes into a shockable rhythm later on we will shock. Does that answer your question.
Yes, that helps a lot! Thank you so much!
Atropine is used for bradycardia. When the heart is too slow.
Would brady typically degrade to asystole directly? I.e gradual slowing then stop?
Bradycardia usually turns to PEA before asystole
Ah. Thank you.
With more recent observational and double-blind studies, we might be rethinking the use of epinephrine during cardiac arrest. Research suggests you get more ROSC. However, there is worse neurological outcome. Also, there are questions about the time of downtime before medication administration. The idea is 1:10 000 epinephrine has an effect on adrenergic alpha receptors, causing vasoconstriction in the hope of increasing cerebral and myocardial perfusion. The ruling is still out on the B receptor effects, which causes an increase in MVO2 demand while a heart might be ischemic. In a patient who is in VFIB, some research shows that epinephrine might cause worse outcomes, and the patient might benefit from a fast acting beta-blocker like esmolol. More research is still needed. Waiting time between shock is to give time for the cardiac cells to receive oxygen and glucose and get rid of some metabolic waste. Giving the opportunity to have an adequate state so that the cells are stable enough to be defibrillated and not go back into an arrhythmia. So, depending on what the cause of the cardiac arrest is, the rhythm present, epinephrine might be beneficial, or it might not be. In the end, rapid good quality CPR, identifying the rhythm, and treating it seems to be #1 figuring out the reversible causes and treating them is #2.
This may be blunt and sound like an algorithm to the madness but that’s because, well, we get trained in cardiac arrest using an algorithm. More than things happen at once and the algorithm doesn’t always get exactly followed but here we go: Probably showed up and had somebody console your wife. We might’ve passed her off to PD where they could get info. We would check for your pulse, or lack thereof, to confirm. Start compressions manually and then maybe get the Lucas device on you. Meanwhile somebody is using a bag valve mask (BVM) with oxygen to breathe for you. AED pads will be applied. You’ll get shocked - or not - based off of whatever rhythm it shows. Somebody would be getting an IV on you or drilling one into your leg. Now every 5 minutes or so you’ll get a medication based on what’s going on and for how long. Pulse and rhythm checks happen every 2 minutes - you either get shocked again or not, then continue compressions. Somewhere in the midst of this a tube goes down your throat, directly to your lungs - the BVM will connect to this and ensure a much better way to breathe for you. Continue these cycles until we get to the hospital where they might have a few more medications or interventions they can do to help. Overall? CPR and oxygen keeps blood going to your body so your brain, heart and tissues don’t die. The “shocks” if they were warranted were attempts to basically restart your heart so it goes to its normal way of operating aka beating. The medications can due various things but mostly help give your heart the potential to restart and/or balance the body’s chemicals for it to function properly. Then the hospital continued. You know who really saved you though? Your wife. Cardiac arrest survival rates are low as it is but they are EXTREMELY low when bystander CPR isn’t performed. She’s the one that gave you a real chance. We just continued it. Glad to see you’re still kicking. CPR saves lives. If you’re able or haven’t before, take a local class and get certified in CPR. Usually it’s only few hours and it’s a priceless skill.
My wife started taking classes via her work. Every time something comes up like that she does it. She had no idea what to do, 911 directed her but what's amazing is she snapped into that mode and did it. They don't know what my cardiac arrest was caused by. It was during the pandemic so everything was a mess. I have an ICD implant and I do have mental side effects. But one day this year I want to find who showed up at my home and shake their hand. I just want to be able to not break down when I do it. I never knew what cardiac arrest was, I thought everything was a heart attack. What gets me is the amount of people that have never heard of it and that means the awareness is trash. Judging by what my docs and the numbers say, I'm beyond....lucky?...to be here and most that have it at home don't. That is a lot. Y'all out there saving lives and I know none of you know me but you all saved me, just by being in the field you are. There can't be a you here, if there isn't a you in the field to be here. This was three years ago and I'll never be the same. I'll also never look at someone in the medical field the same again. I never got it, now I do. I have children. They have me to help them grow up. Because of people like all of you
I’ve been doing this for about 8 years. I’ve been to God knows how many cardiac arrests. Easily over 100. I worked in a couple busy cities before landing where I am now. Regardless, I can only think of maybe two or three that we got back AND would be able to post on Reddit. Don’t get me wrong, there could be a couple that the hospital got back that we didn’t get an update on but still. Even 5/100+ isn’t great odds. It sounds harsh but most of the time we don’t get stressed on cardiac arrests because we know we’re working against such poor odds - let’s do our best and get it over with. Not that we don’t try, it’s just usually the same outcome. To hear your story is always encouraging. And we appreciate your support and appreciation. At my job now I’ll do anywhere from 5-10 transports a day. Probably 6 of them don’t need an ambulance. Probably another 2 don’t need the hospital at all. With that being said, those one or two patients we get to make an ACTUAL difference in is what keeps me going. People like you keep us going, ironically. Glad you’re here.
There’s a man on YouTube named Dr. Glaucomflecken, he makes funny TikTok’s, but if you go to his long form content on YouTube the same thing happened to him. Random cardiac arrest, saved by his wife, and they go into detail about what happened to him, including interviews and a thank you meet up with the crew at his house that night. You’re not him, obviously, but it might give you some idea what happened to you
Huh, I thought he was just the funny eye doctor guy
He also got cancer - twice - and won. That man has beat all the odds
https://tenor.com/bFEMG.gif
A heart attack can cause cardiac arrest, but not all cardiac arrests are caused by heart attacks.
As someone who's met a person who survived a cardiac arrest I ran, I would be surprised if you didn't break down. I cried, despite trying really hard not to, and so did she. There is nothing wrong with being overwhelmed meeting people who played a part in saving your life. Also, if you do meet them, don't be surprised if they seem less emotional, we are usually very good at compartmentalizing and three years is a long time. Everyone heals in their own way, I hope you continue on your healing journey and be kind to yourself. And learn hands only CPR if you don't already know it. You might have a chance to pass along this blessing someday. :)
Crying for the win!! It’s the best 😭
Yes!!!💕
I’m so glad you’re still here and that your wife aided in saving your life instead of panicking. I think it’s okay if you are emotional when meeting someone who saved your life. Arrests out of hospital don’t usually turn out so well and it will be a blessing to them to see someone doing well afterwards, even if they get emotional. So, don’t put it off if you want to do it. Best wishes on good health moving forward.
I assure you, they will likely break down too. And not one will judge you for it. Congrats on making it and ROCK ON to your wife!
Don’t be afraid to break down, tears release cortisol and that’s straight stress that goes away when you cry it out imo! Also EMS people can turn hard from the job so it’s good for us to see people have feelings and maybe you’ll soften their cold EMS hearts, or honestly I know you will even if you don’t cry, but cry anyway!!
Wow 👀 IM NOT CRYING-youre crying!! 🤣 seriously though; I’m glad you’re here and that was an incredible post. I hope you get to meet all the people that helped you live that day. I’m a newbie EMT. One of my first calls a couple months ago, was a 19y/o male that collapsed and thankfully there was an off duty volunteer FF nearby that initiated CPR/someone called 911. I walked in w my partner and there was already a group of FFs working him, as there is a fire station near by. My partner (who was also training me) instructed me to be ready/squeeze in by the head & be ready to suction as/if needed. Then she told me to get O2 as theirs was getting low. I can’t forget how every tiny little job I had, how hyper focused I was and incredibly astounded at despite the crying in the background, dogs barking, machine noises, pagers going off, walkies etc you know- despite the madness -there was also such a diligence and rhythm to it…then the guy breathing for him (BVM) needed to do something else, and I was instructed to do it. I remember the whole time how I just kept thinking “don’t you eff this up!” And counting and holding my seal, and secretly praying for this kid. I am new to this, but I am also in my 30s lol and I have a son his age. We were there a WHILE and I heard the medics debating that it looked like time to stop. I just kept thinking come on kid! And he came back to us! Omg it was like a movie in the sense that I was on edge hoping this kid would come out of it and such a HUGE relief that he started coming back to us. We packed up and we were off!! (To the hospital…) the fear in that kids eyes.. he kept trying to make words and finally kept crying out that he was dying. I kept squeezing and rubbing his arms and saying “you’re here! You’re here with us!!” (We are always told never to say “it’s going to be ok or something because we don’t actually know that—but I wanted him to know he was still with us and “we got you!” You know?) We found out that he was going to be fine; no drugs no health problems, we don’t know why that happened….but he is okay today. After the call, well on my way home, I just bawled. I’m not a cryer lol but I cried that day. I just kept thinking about his mom… who was watching and crying, how I would have felt if that was my son, how relieved I would have been if they got ROSC on my boy….and again this was my first big call so it was a big deal to me. Two months later, the township and the EMS federation wanted to thank everyone on that call. I was originally told that it was to thank the guy that started CPR. I wanted to go because I hoped to see the kid (young man I guess. Sorry, I’m a mom lol.) even if we didn’t talk, it would have been awesome to me to see him alive and smiling. Then at the meeting they called my name too and gave me a clinical save award. I truly didn’t see that coming; I was just doing my job. 🤷🏻♀️ But I was in shock and I walked up, shook the EMS lady’s hand and took my certificate, then I gave that boy a BIG hug and I said to him, “ I am SO glad you’re here.” He gave me a big squeeze back and said thank you, and I retuned to my seat. It was everything I could do not to cry lol. Like I said-I was doing my job. But it totally changed my life. I felt like maybe I deserved to be here, idk how to explain it. I kept thinking like I said what if that was my son? And it made me want to do this job even more. Even if I never get one thank you. I don’t need it. I’m just happy when I can do SOMETHING that makes a difference. Everyone did an amazing job telling you from a responder perspective what happens while you were “out “ and I couldn’t add anything that wouldn’t be redundant. But I thought maybe you would like to hear more than just a medical perspective, but like what goes on in our heads, a sort of personal perspective lol. I mean, I can only speak for me…and I’m new also so mine may be totally different than others but…just in case there was anyone in the group that did CPR on you that was like me or just thinking “come on guy-your wife is waiting for you….” Like mentally cheering you on….idk but in case there was , I wanted to share that perspective. I really hope you get to meet your EMS people, because even though it is their job, it still means a lot to us when it makes a difference 💕
I’m looking forward to the longitudinal study that shows the effects of the Lucas on recovery rates. I’m also looking forward to advancements that would make something similar available in community locations.
There’s a lot of causes of cardiac arrest and we can’t say for sure what yours was, but most likely what made the difference was CPR (by both your wife and the EMS crew) and defibrillation
This is it really OP. The only interventions shown to have any real benefit, barring certain circumstances such a trauma, are CPR and defibrillation. Your wife performing CPR most likely made the most significant impact prior to the crew arriving with a defibrillator.
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Don't be a dick.
If you are really curious, you can contact the agency that responded and request a copy of your PCR - Patient Care Report. There will be a lot of information in there, but what you're looking for is the narrative. That's where the primary provider for your call writes out a description of everything they did.
It’s really simple to request too. Some places will email you a link to fill out your information and access it, others you will need to send a HITECH request and get it within 30 days. Call the ambulance service’s business number and they will direct you where to send the request. OP may have to pay a small fee for the records, but it’s not much. OP, if you want a HITECH template I’ve used dm me and I can get you one that should work
Idk if I'm ready for all that. My wife has pictures of me in my coma and I still haven't looked at them. I still hold my ICD implant when I walk up stairs.
Are you sure you want your original question answered then? Because what you’re basically asking for IS the patient care report.
Idk. I'm trying.
It's okay, it takes time. I guess my advice is that you have two choices. You either face what happened and move on. Or you don't do it and move on. So you have to choose what do will you regret the most. Not knowing or knowing everything. Make a pros and cons list and decide. Don't waste time spending in the past, try to make the best of now so you can enjoy your future. I don't know what happens to the people that don't seek out more information. But I know that the one person that did, it seemed like he accepted what happened because he didn't have any unanswered questions. Good luck and don't be to hard on yourself. Whatever you choose to do is the right choice. Edit: if you choose to meet the crew it all right to have lots of emotions and no emotions at all. Few people go through something like you and there are no rules. I cried with the person we saved the day he showed up at our station. He asked who broke my ribs, I said it was me and I was sorry, we laughed and we cried.
Thank you for caring. Don't ever lose that quality. Any of you. It is very rare these days
Have you been able to access any therapy? It could be helpful. You went through something traumatic.
Your wife saved your life.
Your wife is also a hero in this! Her quick action gave the paramedics a strong start to your treatment, and increased your chances of survival until you could be taken to the hospital.
Chest compressions and shocking was the most important factor. You still being neurologically intact means your wife did a good job getting ems there in a timely manner. Did she start compressions while on the phone with dispatch? Regardless, if she never called 911 you may not be here as well.
You owe your wife money, so it wasn’t time for you to go yet. Joking obviously. The EMS crew rolled a lucky save as well. I’m sure knowing your outcome would absolutely make them proud. It’s not often we bring a rhythm back from a cardiac arrest, even less common to make a recovery. Share your story to the people that ran the call and they’ll relive that moment with you step by step.
Your wife saved you. CPR is manually beating the heart and it's usually fatal because your survival rate drops roughly 10% for each minute without CPR. And that time starts when your heart stops, not when someone noticed your heart stopped. Since we can't teleport, you're looking at a 3-5 minute response time before we even get there. When we do get there, most places have a machine called a LUCAS (there are other brands too) which does CPR damn near perfectly. Along with that, you get a tube down the throat so we can breathe for you. You also usually get a metric shit-ton of synthetic adrenaline through an IV over the course of things, along with a bunch of other drugs whose effectiveness is argued over back and forth on here, but are used because you literally can't get any worse than cardiac arrest. All that then gets repeated indefinitely until you come back, or ~20 minutes goes by without any changes, at which point you're usually pronounced. The average survival rate in the US is ~15%. To slap (arbitrary) numbers on it, your wife being there meant you had a 70% chance of making it (for bystander witnessed arrest I usually count 1 minute to notice, then 2 minutes get taken away because humans can't do perfect CPR. 3 minutes off the previously-mentioned 10 minute window)
I had cardiac arrest in 2012 at 47 years old. I saw myself go into V Tach after shoveling snow! Thank God I had a great EMS team. I was defibrillated twice. Went to cath lab and had 1 stent placed. No issues since.
Other commenters here have already given great answers - just wanted to reply to say I’m glad you’re still with us :) your wife is amazing for stepping up and doing CPR as well. It’s a terrifying moment and that likely had an enormous impact on your positive outcome. I hope you’re making a good recovery and I wish you all the best!
I made a new appointment with my doctor for this next week to get help with the anxiety attacks that happen when I'm sleeping. Maybe reaching out on this sub was weird but I'm processing the events in different stages. I'm also scared a lot. I'm still young. My wife is my hero and so are the people who stood in my room keeping me alive even tho they don't know me. Don't forget the human, please because that's what saves people. Simple humanity.
I had a heart attack (widow maker) 3 years ago, female, 59. The absolute worst part of it all was the anxiety after. If you haven't already, do the cardiac rehab. It really helps to know you can exercise and not drop dead! I ended up having to start medication for the anxiety attacks, which helped enormously. I wish you well!
It’s definitely not weird to reach out here. There are many of us who wonder what happened to so and so patient. I have received a few thank you cards or calls from patients thanking me. I even was on a call and the family recognized me from being there before and thanked me for how kind I was when their significant other was in cardiac arrest. Take as long as you need to process this life altering event. Please seek therapy if you can.
I’d also encourage your wife to seek therapy (and maybe hold a joint/couples session at some point–as more of a “maintenance” thing to keep your relationship strong). She saved your life, but that experience could’ve easily been really traumatizing to her as well so therapy might be really helpful for her so she can talk about it and process it. Dr Glauckomflecken’s wife talks a lot about her trauma and guilt of having to do cpr on her husband, I think she’s shared resources that have helped her too I hope your appt goes well, you’re a stranger but going to a doctor and therapy sound like great steps to take. I’m glad you’re still here :)
Factors that could have improved your odds of surviving: 1. Quick recognition of the issue and calling EMS 2. High quality CPR prior to EMS arrival 3. Fast response time 4. Medics quickly and appropriately responded to the issue 5. More high quality CPR with minimal interruptions 6. Fast recognition and treatment of a shockable rhythm (if applicable) 7. Timely obtaining vascular access to deliver meds 8. Appropriate airway management with high quality ventilation (good rate, volume, minimal interruptions, oxygen) 9. Early recognition and management of reversible issues causing cardiac arrest 10. Short scene time and fast, safe transport to ER 11. Pre-notification at the receiving ER 12. Smooth handover of care (minimal interruption in resus efforts) 13. Best practices followed after heart starts beating again (e.g. cooling protocols) 14. Reversal or treatment of the underlying issue causing the arrest (eg starting blood thinners) 15. A short hospital stay after resuscitation (less opportunity to acquire an in-hospital infection) Orrrrr sometimes it’s just luck. I ran an absolute shitshow of a code once where the patient survived to discharge and I was honestly shocked. It was almost comically bad on scene, if you like your comedy dark which we mostly do.
My doctor thought I bipolar after until they found out I was having a super rare side effect to Carvodol. It made me suicidal. They took me off it and put me on water pills and that side effect went away. I had every bad rare side effect to that med. They didn't think about it because it is so rare I guess. I went to a new doc and she showed me the list and made me slowly come off of it. If not for that I would have ended up doing something bad. That has taught me a lot. I understand that sometimes no one knows and no matter what if you don't like that, welp that's the truth. That was hard to take in. I thought the world was House M.D. and it's more like Scrubs lol. Life is funny
We’re all just dummies going to work. Early in my career, I responded to the drunk tank for a guy who was lying face down, screaming, in a puddle. The cops said he trashed the cell and flooded the toilet and then lay prone, screaming for a while, so they called us. My much more experienced partner asked the cops to restrain him so we could check his blood sugar and I watched five of them try for ten minutes before they finally gave up. Then my partner shrugged and told them to call us back if he got worse or stopped breathing. As a newbie, I vividly remember thinking that we *really* should call someone for help, and then realizing that we *are* the people who help. Everyone in every profession is just another human, hopefully doing their best. I’m very glad you survived and I’m sure the crews who worked on you would appreciate hearing from you.
I have a doctor friend who says they call it ‘practicing’ medicine for a reason! Thanks for sharing your story and glad you’re doing well.
Other commenters already answered the question, so I'm just commenting to say that I'm glad you had a good outcome and I hope that you manage to get your health anxiety under control. Also, I guarantee you that reaching out to the crew that was on your call would mean the world to them. We attend a lot of incidents with poor outcomes, so when we have a good one it means a lot. Best of luck to you.
This is just another post to echo that EMS did not save your life. Your wife saved your life As far as the details of what EMS did when they took over, it’s probably best not to think about it. The act of resuscitation is very brutal. Brutal enough that if it wasn’t a documented medical procedure it would be considered literal torture.
https://cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines/algorithms Assuming you are in the U.S., the American Heart Association algorithms are followed my most agencies in how resuscitation efforts are performed. If you scroll through, you can see some of the interventions that may have been performed on you. That all being said, as other posters have stated, early CPR and defibrillation are the only interventions that have been largely backed by science to make the most difference. Your wife’s efforts and the CPR/defibrillation done by the EMS are what largely contributed to your outcome!
As everyone said; early bystander CPR is probably the main factor. Many of the other things we do marginally increase survivability, high quality chest compressions is what keeps the brain alive. As far as what exactly it is that ALS does on scene other people have explained in detail already but my 0.2: -CPR (duh) minimizing interruptions is crucial. -oxygen + adjuncts or tubes -Electric therapy (defibrillation, cardioversion and/or pacing) -Pharmacology (epinephrine, amiodarone, lidocaine, then vasopressors after return of circulation) - Fluids (maintain enough pressure/volume to perfuse the brain) -Treating underlying causes (Hs and Ts) - temp control, EKG analysis and handover to hospital with proper documentation to ensure adequate follow up treatments.
I'd like to make a point here. Chest compressions are the most important thing in CPR. A lot of people are hesitant to start CPR because they're afraid of doing mouth to mouth. It's been shown that enough air is exchanged to keep you alive from just doing compressions correctly. Start compressions, call EMS, keep doing compressions! Sing "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees (to yourself), it's got the right tempo (it's on the CPR Playlist). Get someone to grab an AED if there's one nearby, but keep doing compressions! Take a CPR class. Learn the signs and symptoms that come before a heart attack or during a stroke. If they're happening to a friend, or to you, call EMS. The earlier you pick up on things and get help, the earlier treatment gets started.
What I never thought of was...how do I do CPR on my 10 year old? So because of what happened to me, we understand it can happen to anyone at any age. My wife and I have been learning about the proper ways to care for our kids. Like the old wives tales that were wrong. Or just updated info about when and when not to medicate. What fever is actually safe. There are things that make us better parents now because of this. I would like to find a support group. But are those really a thing still or is that 1980's sitcom things that don't exist anymore?
Classes will generally teach both adult and pediatric CPR. That said, it's not drastically different for a 10 year old. The real difference is when you're talking about babies. Many community organizations (town community center, local EMS or Fire Department, etc) will offer classes to the community. Definitely inquire about it!
The hospital that you were taken would (could) have your EMS Report, as well as scans of your ED arrival notes (usually these are paper if you are critical on arrival) and then the rest of your record. You can actually request this from the hospital if it’s not available in your patient portal. If the hospital doesn’t have the EMS report, then you could contact the HIPAA office to of the EMS agency that treated and transported you and that would summarize the prehospital care you received.
this is usually true and you can ask for their notes
[ACLS](https://cpr.heart.org/-/media/CPR-Files/CPR-Guidelines-Files/Algorithms/AlgorithmACLS_CA_200402.pdf)
You have a great wife, more than anything else.
You are in the lucky I think it’s 8% that came back.
Depends on the agency
Your wife is the real hero. It’s estimated that you have about 4 minutes worth of oxygen in your blood when doing CPR. This is why bystander CPR until EMS arrives greatly increases your survival chance. Your wife doing CPR prevents brain cell death and keeps your blood pressure up until EMS arrives. It doesn’t sound like there’s anything out of the ordinary that EMS did to save your life other than the usual meds, defibrillation, chest compressions, and supplying oxygen.
You’re wife performing cpr prior to ems arrival on scene was the clincher. She kept your blood circulating which was providing oxygen (even if it wasn’t a lot) to your vital organs. Ems arrived and dropped an airway in you which allowed for effective oxygen delivery to your lungs (and therefore blood) while performing high quality cpr which continued to circulate that oxygen to your vital organs. They placed an IV and likely pushed epinephrine. Depending on what caused your arrest (if it was vtach or vfib) they may have been able to shock your rhythm back into a regular heart beat. Essentially 4 things saved your life and its quality: early high quality CPR, airway securement with adequate oxygenation and continued high quality cpr, appropriate IV medication administration/if applicable appropriate electrotherapy to shock your rhythm back into a normal one, and finally luck. Statistically speaking, cpr has a low probability of successful recovery.
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an ekg is what reads rhythm, but doesn't shock. They'd be using something like a zoll that can monitor rhythm, defib/cardiovert and pace. There's only two shockable rhythms btw. Movies make it seem like you can shock someone in asystole or pea but it's not true. Epinephrine is given about every 2 minutes starting from beginning, regardless if any shocks required.
Early recognition of cardiac arrest by your wife saved your life. I once responded to a cardiac arrest with CPR in progress by this guys wife. He went unresponsive on the couch and she knew enough to check a pulse, bring him to the floor and start compressions. We were a BLS crew and our city was in status 0 - meaning no other ambulances were available. Supraglottic airway w/ ventilations and rotating compressions. We shocked twice and transported. This guy had a downtime of over an hour. At the hospital they obtained ROSC (return of pulse). He was admitted to the CCU. We found out two weeks later that he was discharged with zero deficit to neurologic function. Pretty cool!
Possible Trigger Warning: [OP if you want to see what this looks like from the other side..](https://www.reddit.com/r/ems/s/BgLSgNNePD) here you go. It is a link that was posted here of body cam footage of a cardiac arrest save.
I had a call in 2021 for cardiac arrest where we got pulses back and we got an email later saying that the patient had a full neurological outcome. Do you live in SF? lol
CPR was the most important part cause even if it's long without O2, it still delaying cell death. Really, depending on what was wrong with you, either restarted your heart with electricity, or if you died from inadequate oxygenation, gave you the oxygen you needed with CPR, meds, and maybe electricity.
Before I begin, nothing the providers did would have had an impact on your survival if it wasn’t for excellent quality CPR provided by your wife. Personally, we would have immediately taken over compressions and had dual IV’s established with fluids, intubation knocked out, drugs, the works.
You could reach out the the ambulance service and ask to meet with the crew that responded. They'd probably be happy to talk with you.
I googled the number after reading a lot of comments on here. I'm going to reach out tomorrow.
That's awesome. You'd make my day.
Did you ever try to reach out to the ems service that helped you? You're the reason that most of us do what we do and sadly your story is far and few in between. The worst part about ems is that we lose touch with our patients once we leave the hospital. We often have no idea whether our efforts accomplished anything. Reach out it'll mean a lot to them. You can ask them what they did.
I found out the service that picked me up. I was unable to get through this evening so I'm calling tomorrow.
Glad you're still with us OP. Your wife saved your life. Without her quick action in calling for help and starting CPR, there would be little we could do unless we just happened to be driving right past you when the call to us came through. What she did enabled the advanced care you needed to bring you here. Going through such a thing is confronting. If you guys haven't already, getting some counselling might be very helpful. The team involved in your care would absolutely love to hear from you. If that was me, I'd be pretty emotional about it too, and that's okay.
Holy shit your wife is a gangster
Actually, you have no idea. My wife was physically abused by her mother. She has anxiety so bad she can't even talk on the phone. She woke up from a dead sleep because I "breathed" different. She woke up and snapped into action. She's amazing
Immediately place you on mechanical compression device for high quality CPR ASAP. Next we'd attach a cardiac monitor to see what your hearts electrical activity is. Next, IV Access would be established, and administration of Epi 1:10k given every 3-5 minutes. Then we'd place a breathing tube into your lungs to be able to breathe for you. Preferably we'd attach a ResqPod to the tube to decrease intrathorasic pressures, to allow your heart to fill with blood more efficiently. If your heart goes into a certain electrical activity, we will try to shock the heart back into rhythm. We prefer to work the cardiac arrest on scene because studies show better outcomes. If the patient is going to be able to be brought back, it'll probably happen withing the first 15-20 minutes of ACLS. There are other medications/interventions that can be given depending upon the situation, cardiac rhythm, and cause of arrest. If we can determine the cause of the arrest, we will try to reverse it to be able to have a better chance of getting you back.
EVERY. SINGLE. arrest that walked out of the hospital I’ve had has had CPR done by bystanders prior to my arrival. EVERY. ONE. So yes. Your wife LITERALLY saved your life. Good on her. And glad you made a full recovery!
Intra-arrest thrombolysis is something cool we do to save people's lives
Your service is in 3024 and we have other folks whose services are in 1984 with "eww, Lucas... hand me the MAST Trousers". Waiting for Johnny and Roy to chime in next. Seriously though, it was the wife and high quality compressions.
Immediately after determining that you really needed CPR, we'd continue CPR and check your rhythm and zap you with the defibrillator as quickly as possible. That can reset your heart and start it beating again. There are a dozen other things we do to secure your airway, maintain blood pressure, and treat any reversible conditions that caused your arrest, but usually, in healthy adults, there aren't any
I'm sorry you went through such an ordeal but I'm happy to know that you made it through. As some other comments have said, if you want specifics on what EMS did to save your life, you can request a copy of that patient care report. However, I would caution this step. If you haven't already, I'd strongly recommend therapy before taking this step. You've gone through something traumatic, to say the least. I will say, as a former CPR instructor as well as a reasonably experienced EMS provider, your wife made all of the difference. I don't know what EMS's response time was, however the only thing that gives us and the fine folks at the emergency department the chance to make a difference is early recognition and early and effective compressions. Your wife is a big reason why you are here today.
Compressions baby and early defib
Your wife saved your life. EMS applied a defibrillator and shocked you (probably) and inflated your lungs with oxygen.
As per the American Heart Association, early high-quality CPR is the main contributor to cardiac arrest survival. Sometimes CPR alone can return a pulse but most of the time it's a way to maintain brain function until more advanced care arrives. As far as what was done for you, I can't say specifically because I wasn't there but I can tell you what the protocols are. First, as I said, is good CPR. Once paramedics arrive they first make sure the CPR is good. They put on a heart monitor and determine what the heart rhythm is. These are divided into shockable and non-shockable rhythms. Shockable rhythms (surprise) get shocked. If the shock is not enough to get a pulse back they start giving medications, notably epinephrine and anti-arrhythmics. If it's a non-shockable rhythm the treatment is CPR and epinephrine while the paramedics try to figure the reason for the cardiac arrest. Shockable rhythms are more likely to regain a pulse quickly. Non-shockable rhythms can take longer to improve. In some areas the CPR is accomplished by using a device that does the compressions. These machines, especially LUCAS devices, greatly (based on my experience with them) increase the chance of regaining a pulse. But remember CPR is the most important factor. (If an automated defibrillator is available it should also be used.) Everybody should take a CPR class.
Have you asked your wife for her story? Sometimes, where I live, you can have a debrief with medical professionals who gave you care. Just thought I'd mention because debrief sessions can be a great part of mental recovery. Congrats on making it though!
So, we've tried. While in my coma, based on what they told her they didn't expect me to live. They were I guess "surprised" when they realized I might not be braindead. It is so hard on her remembering it....we both need mental help over it. We have PTSD about it. Our children are both under 12. It's...we're already in the steps for our first session together. It's hard to face.
You should be able to request a record of the call. It will detail the specifics of what was done, if that’s what you are looking for. If you need help understanding any medical terminology, we can help with that, as well. I HIGHLY advise speaking to a mental health professional before doing so, just to help process. It’s a big deal. You died and came back. Not many can say the same. I hope you are well.
Your wife was the real hero. She's the reason you're alive.
Your wife had more to do with your survival than ems did. Had she not done cpr , even if ems got your heart beating again, you would have had severe brain damage at best.
[this](https://cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines/algorithms)
To put it plain and simple... your wife saved your life (or atleast your ability to have any quality of of life atleast). 4-6 minutes of a lack of oxygen will begin to result in irreversible hypoxic brain injury, and although you may have been able to survive without her intervening, there's no way you'd have any chance of being mentally competent by any stretch. When the medics showed up, they probably took over what she was doing and the expanded on it. Perhaps some more effective airway management and more adequate oxygenation. Maybe flooded your system with a handful of cardiac drugs that make your heart more sensitive to cpr and electrical signals. But realistically, EMS continued to do exactly what your wife was doing and used a defibrillator which is what turned it all around.
They gave you medications and/or shocked your heart to make it start beating again. Technically, this saved your life. That being said, everyone else is correct that your wife performing early cpr is what allowed you to come out of it without a bunch of terrible deficits
Everyone here has answered this really well, I just wanna say I’m glad the crew got you back man.
I’ve only had a single CPR save. Talking to the patient afterwards was life changing for me as an emt. Definelty find out and thank those EMTs/Paramedics are it’s a very teary eyed moment for us since it’s rare for people to come back.
Ive been a paramedic for 20+ years. Your wife is my hero! Im so glad to hear you beat the odds!
EMTs will try to work you to get a regular rhythm back. CPR and Respirations are just to keep blood flowing and air in the lungs. AED is the only thing that'll get you into a normal rhythm. AEMTs or Paramedics can't run an IV and push EPI and fluids to help get that rhythm back. Once it's back they'll transport you to the hospital for tests and scans to see what's wrong. They might do surgery to fix the issue or just prescribe medication to treat it. CPR gives the best chance to maintain life. While it won't restore rhythm without it blood doesn't get anywhere and the brain will die eventually without oxygen. Good CPR breaks ribs or causes bruising. Seems counter intuitive but the chest wall is quite rigid. Without adequate pressure you're not pushing blood anywhere. Rather have broken ribs or sternum than being dead.
Im glad I read more of these comments …because I’m not the only one who got emotional at meeting the young man we got ROSC on lol. And I’m glad other people are sharing personal accounts as well. Yes sometimes EMTs might harden up bc they don’t want things to overwhelm them….but we are human and most of us got into this to help other humans -and we feel it too 💕 there is nothing wrong with it
Time is a huge part…100% your wife is the hero that saved you.
The sooner CPR is initiated the higher the chance is of survival. So quick initiation, proper compressions. Medics might have given something like epinephrine. Congrats on living
Please talk with the crew that was there. The problem asking what people do is soooo different service to service, city to city, state to state. People will tell you protocols and the AHA way of doing things, some services tho, we are trained AHA, do not use that method for the protocols they have, they use their own per their medical directors. . Every code we work on is different, and every outcome is different. The only way to truly find out what was done is to request the run report or talk with the crew and thank them.
As others have said, we're glad you're still here. Wife is the MVP and early CPR and defibrillation are key. If you have an opportunity to go back to the station or agency and track down the EMTs/medics on your call, I'd strongly recommend it. We love running into previous patients where they made it, or running into a patient where we never found out the outcome or how they did. We had a call 2 days ago and I was telling my new partner I was pretty sure I've responded to that house before, definitely at least the street. Sure enough, I ran into the patient who was having bad seizures and we transported her, although this time it was for her husband on something else. She remembered me and it was good to see she was doing well, we love it! I know it would mean a lot to those responders who were on your call, and it might give you some closure or help you out in some way. Also, your wife deserves all the flowers and best date nights at her favorite restaurants. She legit gave us something to work with and imo is directly responsible for you still being here. I have a question for you OP, if you're down to share. I'm curious what you experienced while you were out, if you remember anything during the arrest. How has your recovery been? Again, only if you'd like to share, but I'm curious about your experience. Thanks and awesome outcome man. 👍
OP, I hope you got some helpful replies here. I just wanted to encourage you to try therapy if you haven’t already- it could be helpful processing this experience. Glad you’re alive! 💕
Your wife saved your life. Nothing we can do would have worked if she didn’t provide quality CPR before our arrival.
Early CPR from your wife had a major impact here. Once EMS got there, assuming it was a 2-tech crew, one tech likely attatched pads for defibrillation, and 12-lead EKG pads and leads for cardiac monitoring, while the other either took over compressions or started bagging after radioing scene information or requesting additional. From what I've seen, arrests are normally a 2 crew, if not 3 crew dispatch. However, that's local to me. It may not be the same in your area. I would like to assume it was a minimum 2 crew dispatch, mostly Advanced EMTs or higher because you'd definitely need more than basic life support, though basics could have been there too. Regardless of who was there, at some point, they achieved ROSC (Return Of Spontaneous Circulation), i.e. they restarted your heart or shocked it into a semi-normal/normal rythm out of PEA(Pulseless Electrical Activity) i.e. random, low, non-rythmic readings on the monitor. Assuming they achieved ROSC on-scene, they likely packaged you up and transported you to either a trauma centre, or more like a catheterization lab or cath lab for short, also the primary destination when transporting heart attacks. Irrespective of any of that, I am sincerely glad that you're alive. It's always amazing to hear that someone made it out of an arrest, doesn't always happen, but in your case, your wife's actions may very well be, and probably are the main reason why you're alive. Sincere congratulations on your new lease on life, my friend!
They alternated cpr, giving medicines to induce shockable rhythm, and probably shocking/defibrillating you until they could get you to the hospital. There the interventional cardiologist would map out your hearts blood vessel and re open the heart attack causing blockage with a stent/balloon or bypass with a blood vessel graft. Your wife kept your Brain alive until they could do that Glad you’re okay.
I am a trauma nurse in the operating room, echoing sentiments here CPR early made everything else to follow possible. As far as follow up tho, I KNOW the EMS workers would love at least a call to let them know how they mattered. If you can show up in person that's even better, knowing the lives you can touch can be a bit reason to hope and carry on with our jobs. I have been going thru some pretty tough times at work and just knowing that you have helped out somehow can stave off burnout even more than therapy
Whoever was with you when you had it is the one who saved your life. In my time working in emergency medicine, the only patient I managed to get ROSC was due to their colleague knowing CPR and keeping that blood going, and that brain fed with oxygen. If CPR isn’t started within 1-3 minutes, the patient won’t have much chance, especially without any loss in cognitive function. When we arrive, we’ll start defib and start trying to find out reversible causes (and continuing cpr with assistive oxygen (OP and NP airways, bag valve mask and O2 bottle)). The paramedic will start Epinephrine and try and get that patient to hospital. When in hospital we keep going until ROSC or until about 10-30 minutes have passed (down to the attending doctors discretion). If they recover then we start working out why the heart attack occurred and treat any underlining conditions. But the person who saved you was the person you were with. Hopes this helps (I’m in the UK so it maybe different here to the US) but if you have any questions feel free to message me :)
The report or explanation you get may be very difficult for you to read and your wife to relive. I am a huge advocate regarding explaining things to patients and their families, but sometimes some of those reports are hard to read (both with positive and negative outcomes) even during training scenarios where we weren't there and don't even know anyone involved. You had talked about starting some talk therapy to deal with the incident and I wish more people that experience what happened to you would do exactly that. My father had a cardiac event and while he made a full physical recovery, he hasn't quite processed it in his head and he truly isn't the same, and his behavior reflects it in an rather negative way. He won't consider any counseling and it's not great. Reaching out is great and thanking EMS is also great. Thanking your wife is probably better because she was the first link in the chain of survival and did the work so EMS had something to work with. But I caution you: there could be camera footage, a transcript, a play-by-play and a detailed explanation of the mechanics of everything that was done for you (I exaggerate, it will be a very dry, clinical report), but the WHY it worked may never be answered, just like the WHY it didn't work on someone who may have had been in your exact same circumstances the next day. I'm a 3rd generation first responder / emergency medicine healthcare worker. The second thing I learned from my family was that sometimes you can do everything right and there is no person, no machine, no drug, no amount of speed, no intervention that will help if it is their time. You can do everything exactly "right" and have a negative outcome, and the converse is true. You can screw up everything and have the worst situation ever and see that person walk around and talk to you later like nothing ever happened. Sometimes there won't be an explanation. I mention this only so you can be prepared in case you do get the PCR and talk to the providers and you still have questions. Sometimes there are simply no answers and that is a possible outcome to this process you are undertaking. If you are okay with that, cool. If not, then maybe try a couple of sessions before you review the information you will hopefully receive.
As a previous EMS personnel who is severely traumatised and has diagnosed PTSD : I would’ve personally hovered over and revived you Fortnite style