Australian Man Dead For 40 Minutes But Brought Back To Life; New Method At The Alfred Revives Man

An Australian man was successfully revived after being proclaimed clinically dead for 40 minutes.

Colin Fiedler, a 39-year-old man from Victoria, suffered a cardiac arrest last June and was already pronounced dead for over 40 minutes before successfully being revived. Admitted to The Alfred hospital, the medical centre's emergency department used two new techniques to bring Fiedler back to life.

According to a report by News.com.au, The Alfred is utilizing an Australian-first method of using a mechanical CPR machine called AutoPulse and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) with the use of a portable heart-lung machine. The AutoPulse machine is used to constantly perform chest compressions while the heart-lung machine helps keep oxygen and blood flow into the vital organs of the patient.

The method allows doctors to treat the patient--diagnosing the cause of the cardiac arrest--while keeping blood and oxygen flowing to the brain and the patient's vital organs. This process helps reduce the risk of a patient having permanent disabilities.

So far, the Australian hospital has already treated seven cardiac arrest patients through this new technique--three of which were already declared dead for 40 to 60 minutes before being revived, including Fiedler.

The man from Dandenong in Victoria says he is very thankful to the hospital and to the new medical technique for saving his life.

"I'm so grateful, more than I could ever say," Colin said as reported by the Herald Sun.

According to him, paramedics in the ambulance gave him two hospital options to be admitted to; thankfully, he chose The Alfred.

"For some reason, I said The Alfred, which is pretty lucky because they are the only one that has it [the new medical method]."

Since being revived, Fiedler has lived a healthier lifestyle--quitting smoking and tries not to stress out.

As for the new medical method, after two year of trial, The Alfred senior intensive care physician Professor Stephen Bernard says he hopes to expand the new revival system throughout the Melbourne area.