Six hours passed since the 34-year old British teacher’s heart stopped beating while hiking in the Pyrenees – and she arrived to the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona with dilated pupils, asystole (a flat ECG line) and a body temperature of only 20°C. Yet, the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) team at the Spanish hospital brought her back to life. Only one month later, she was back in her classroom.

While waiting for a heart transplant at the Fortis Malar Hospital in Chennai, India, a 37 year old man suddenly went into cardiac arrest. Cardiac massage wouldn’t get the heart to start beating again, but then the medical team took the critical decision to put him on an ECMO treatment. After a total of 45 minutes in cardiac arrest the patient was amazingly brought back to life.