In a bizarre incident, a 75-year-old woman came back to life after being declared dead at a hospital in Ecuador. Reportedly, she shocked several of her relatives by banging on her coffin from the inside during her wake. The woman, named Bella Montoya, a retired nurse, was reportedly taken to the hospital early Friday after suffering cardiopulmonary arrest and a possible stroke. Since she did not respond to the treatments, she was eventually declared dead.
This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. In India, a 40-year-old man in UP's Moradabad came back to life after being kept in a mortuary freezer for seven hours. Similarly, a 95-year-old man, who was presumed dead, came back to life during his last rites in Rajasthan. While the exact cause of such events is unknown, in the medical world, the phenomenon is called Lazarus syndrome. Speaking with the OnlyMyHealth team, Dr Prithwiraj Bhattacharjee, Consultant Cardiology, Fortis Hospital, Anandapur, discusses the condition in detail.
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What Is Lazarus Syndrome?
The condition derived its name from a biblical story of a character named Lazarus, who after being dead for four days was brought back to life by Jesus. Lazarus syndrome is somewhat similar as it occurs when the circulation spontaneously resumes, bringing one back from the dead.
“Lazarus syndrome is a circumstance in which a person previously announced dead from cardiac arrest suddenly displays signs of life,” said Dr Bhattacharjee, adding, “It is a misnomer as the person never actually dies.” “This occurs due to a delay in the resumption of spontaneous circulation following Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The cause of such incidents remains unclear; however, one possibility is that during the administration of CPR, excessive air in the lungs may exert pressure on the heart, impeding proper blood flow,” he added.
As our heart helps pump blood through your blood vessels to all the organs and tissues in your body, when it stops beating, it hinders circulation and deprives the body of oxygen. This is when CPR comes into play. While it can help resuscitate people, in some cases, the effect shows only after the CPR is stopped. This is called Lazarus syndrome.
A Rare Occurrence
According to Dr Bhattacharjee, Lazarus syndrome is relatively uncommon and only a few examples have been documented in the literature. According to research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine (SJTREM), there are 65 documented cases in the medical literature from 1982 to 2018, of which 18 individuals made a complete recovery. As per the doctor, this is due to autoresuscitation, which always occurs after someone has received CPR.
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How Long Does It Take For Lazarus Syndrome To Occur?
While Lazarus took four days to come back to life, Dr Bhattacharjee said, “The time of onset usually occurs a few minutes after CPR has been stopped. However, sometimes, it could take hours.”
According to the above-mentioned study by SJTREM, in most documented cases of Lazarus syndrome, circulation typically returned within 10 minutes of stopping CPR.
As per the doctor, though some individuals fully recover, the majority of them have a poor prognosis and do not survive.
A Final Word
“It is advised to do CPR for at least 20 minutes, at a rate of no more than 12 breaths per minute,” said Dr Bhattacharjee, adding that one should wait at least 10 minutes after ceasing CPR before declaring someone, who has suffered a cardiac arrest, dead.
[Disclaimer: The information in this article is provided by a registered medical practitioner. However, we recommend you consult your healthcare provider for a thorough diagnosis and treatment.]