My friend is 20 years old and was diagnosed with Kidney failure two years ago.A week and a half ago I took her to the hospital because she wasn't feeling well, they admitted her because her liver enzymes and potassium levels were elevated. a day later she tells me she has pneumonia, two days later her moms calling me and says she on a respirator because a seizure had her heart stopped for 20 minutes.
She was on the respirator for two and half days before they thought she was able to breathe and function without it. They say she will recover physically but they don't know about mentally until shes able to talk, which she cannot due yet because the tube caused irritation to her throat.
I saw her saturday and she was doing better, has along way to go but she smiled at some old jokes I brought up which tells me she has her memory.
But I think twenty minutes is along time for your heart to stop working....does that leave her with a high possibility of brain damage? or have people been know to recover fully from that?
George - I think as long as enough oxygen was getting to the brain then the risk is minimal. I am no doc. I also found this
ReplyDeleteIt is roughly around 3 minutes and it depends on the person (i.e. baby, adult...etc.). Brain damage is irreversible no matter how long you are without oxygen. Once brain damage begins you can never regain those cells that have died.
Baa Baa - If her heart stopped for 20 minutes in the hospital, then they most likely were monitoring her and caught her heart stopping or her not breathing immediately. A person can quit breathing while their heart pumps on for awhile. They would have immediately start CPR on her which keeps the blood and oxygen flowing throughout her body. I assume they also put her on the respirator right away when she could not breathe on her own. The important thing is that while this happened, it was as if she was still alive since the medical team was making sure she did not suffer any lack of oxygen to the brain. If a person goes beyond 4 minutes without blood flow to the brain when the heart stops, there is a good chance they can have brain damage. If she had no oxygen for 20 minutes to the brain, she would be brain dead. There are some exceptions such as someone that suddenly drowns in ice cold water. They have brought people back from that and they managed not to suffer brain damage due to the ice cold temperatures putting them in a sudden frozen state.
ReplyDeleteSince your friend has memory and has reacted to your jokes, it sounds like she might do just fine. Her heart really did not stop working for 20 minutes. It started working again the second they did CPR.
Donna B. - Great answer from baa baa. Your friend had her guardian angels looking out for her for sure. I cannot say for certain that she doesn't have any memory loss but what you have written tells me that she is going to have a good recovery. I'm a nurse and I was quite ill a few years ago and in hospital and I was aware of my confusion but eventually I got everything sorted out and recalled what I did and said.
ReplyDeleteI would think that she was being closely observed and had a witnessed arrest and got immediate CPR. Her long term memory is intact but it's her short term memory that is most important.It's hard with renal disease because when your electrolytes are so out of wack that can cause confusion. When your sodium is too low you can seizure. Your potassium goes too high your heart can stop. Having ev erything out of wack together can cause confusion. She should be seen by neurology for an assessment.. Has she ever considered kidney transplant? Take are, Donna.