A 91-year-old Polish woman has "come back to life" 11 hours after being announced dead, shocking mortuary officials.
Janina Kolkiewicz had no pulse, wasn't breathing, and her eyes weren't responding to light when her doctor declared her dead, according to RT.
BBC News added that she "awoke" inside her body bag two days before her funeral in the town of Ostrow Lubelski in eastern Poland.
Wieslawa Czyz, a physician who examined her, told TV station TVP (via NDTV) that she was sure that the patient was already dead.
"I'm stunned; I don't understand what happened. Her heart had stopped beating; she was no longer breathing," Czyz said.
Kolkiewicz was returned to her niece Bogumila, who fed her soup and pancakes to keep her warm.
Bogumila told the local daily Dziennik Wschodni that her aunt has late-stage dementia and has no idea what occurred.
While some credit Kolkiewicz's reawakening to a miraculous phenomenon known as the Lazarus syndrome, one mortuary technician believes (per The Christian Post) it was more possible that she had a very weak pulse.
Other Cases of Lazarus Syndrome
The Washington Post noted that cases of Lazarus syndrome are likely underreported, in part because proclaiming someone dead who isn't might have legal ramifications, especially if paramedics or physicians stopped resuscitation efforts.
Only around 63 occurrences of Lazarus syndrome have been described in medical publications. Some of these cases have hit the front pages of newspapers, such as:
- A 37-year-old guy in Ohio passed out at home. His heart stopped at the hospital, and despite 45 minutes of CPR, he was pronounced dead. His relatives discovered a cardiac beat on his monitor a few minutes later. He was healthy enough to return home a week later;
- After failing CPR, a 23-year-old British man was pronounced dead. A priest administered him final rites around 30 minutes later and realized he was breathing. He died two days later in the hospital;
- After 30 minutes of CPR, a 20-year-old woman in Detroit was proclaimed dead. She was escorted to a funeral home when they discovered she was still alive. She was admitted to the hospital for treatment but passed away two months later.
Lazarus Syndrome Explained
Medical News Today defined the Lazarus Syndrome as a delayed resumption of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In other words, following cardiac arrest, people who are reported dead have an unexpected resumption of heart function.
The disease is named after Lazarus of Bethany, who was brought back to life by Jesus Christ four days after his death based on the New Testament of the Bible.
ROSC occurs within 10 minutes of CPR being stopped in roughly 82 percent of Lazarus syndrome cases. Around 45 percent of patients had excellent neurological recovery, according to a 2007 study by Vedamurthy Adhiyaman and colleagues.
While the small number of reported instances may imply that Lazarus syndrome is uncommon, experts believe it is far more prevalent than studies suggest.
It might be traced to the fact that medicolegal concerns are raised in situations when people are proclaimed dead but later discovered to be alive. The resuscitating doctor's professional skills may be called into doubt, and such an occurrence may bring shame to peers.
Another important concern is whether a patient's death was caused by the early termination of resuscitative attempts or the failure to continue resuscitation efforts.
Lazarus Syndrome Causes
Although the cause of Lazarus syndrome is unknown, various possibilities might explain it. Healthline outlined several possible reasons for the said condition.
Temporary cardiac arrest
A defibrillator may be used during CPR to provide an electrical shock to your heart in an attempt to restart it or reset an abnormal cardiac rhythm known as arrhythmia.
There is sometimes a lag between the shock and the effect. If you wait long enough, your circulation seems to restore on its own, rather than due to the shock.
Air tapping
The most prevalent cause of Lazarus syndrome is air trapping. If you have a chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD).
There's no time to exhale when air is pumped into your lungs too quickly during CPR (hyperventilation), so it builds up. This is referred to as air trapping.
The pressure within your chest rises when the air fills your lungs. It eventually reaches a point where your blood cannot flow freely from your chest veins to your heart, and your heart struggles to pump blood out to your body. This may include the following:
- Stopping your blood flow can lead to cardiac arrest.
- During CPR, keep your heart from restarting.
- When CPR is stopped, the trapped air in your lungs begins to escape, lowering the pressure in your chest.
Blood from your body will eventually travel to your heart, where it will be pumped to the rest of your body. Circulation might resume, giving the impression that your heart has restarted.
Medication delivery and effect are delayed
To work, medications administered during CPR must reach your heart. Anything in your blood, including medicine given intravenous (IV) in your arms or legs, can't get to your heart when air trapping prevents blood from returning to your heart.
Blood will flow to your heart, carrying the medication with it, after the air trapping is resolved and the pressure in your chest is low enough. If the drugs are working, your circulation will return on its own.
Other reasons
Your heart might stop beating if you have too much potassium or acid in your blood. CPR is commonly used to address the condition. However, it might take long to work. If things don't improve until CPR is stopped, it may appear that your circulation has returned on its own.
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