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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suffered Cardiac Arrest, Heart Stopped Beating For Four Minutes. Full Recovery Possible?

Hi - an elderly friend in his early 70s has suffered from cardiac arrest yesterday and his heart beat stopped for just over 4 mins. He is now under sedation and we are naturally extremely worried. In your experience and your opinion what are the likely outcomes in this situation - a full recovery or possibly some lasting effects on the brain? Many thanks
Mon, 4 Mar 2013
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for posting your query.
With the available described symptoms, this can be concluded that your friend condition is extremely serious.
Cardiac arrest for 4 minutes is huge time period and this may cause hypoglycemic encephalopathy in brain.
Sedation or comatose position could be result of brain damage.
Further progression depends on heart status & combination of heart and brain damage.
Initial 5-7 days are very important as heart condition may improve or deteriorate progressively in these coming days.
He/ she should remain in close surveillance of expertise doctor team.
Pray for better.
Take care,
Dr. Mayank Bhargava
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Suffered Cardiac Arrest, Heart Stopped Beating For Four Minutes. Full Recovery Possible?

Hi, Thanks for posting your query. With the available described symptoms, this can be concluded that your friend condition is extremely serious. Cardiac arrest for 4 minutes is huge time period and this may cause hypoglycemic encephalopathy in brain. Sedation or comatose position could be result of brain damage. Further progression depends on heart status & combination of heart and brain damage. Initial 5-7 days are very important as heart condition may improve or deteriorate progressively in these coming days. He/ she should remain in close surveillance of expertise doctor team. Pray for better. Take care, Dr. Mayank Bhargava