Man in North Carolina cheats death after 40 minutes with no pulse

Two police officers who happened to be nearby started CPR on the father-of-three in a minute of the 911 call.

They took turns resuscitating Mr Ogburn for about 42 minutes until his heartbeat returned.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers Lawrence Guiler and Nikolina Bajic’s lifesaving efforts are all the more praiseworthy given that emergency workers aren’t needed to perform CPR after 20 minutes with no critical signs.

‘I am doing really well’

He’s been advised to not drive for six months and is easing back into work.

However, for the most part, he says that he feels completely fine, besides a sore chest.

“My energy level has not been what it was before, but that could be because my routine changed a little,” he told the BBC.

“(The combination of the chest compressions and an internal defibrillator] is a bit tender, but if that’s all I got to complain about, then I am doing very well.”

Mr Ogburn said he’s still figuring out how to get the most out of his second chance at life.

Above all he feels indebted to the first responders who went above and beyond the call of duty to create each new day possible for him.

“In some time frames they are supposed to call it, and they did not, they continued to attempt and save me,” he said. “And I am just so thankful for this and for them”

Golden minutes

Dr Michael Kurz, associate professor in the University of Alabama School of Medicine, says: “The evidence does inform us that for each minute the heart is ceased and that high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) isn’t conducted, there’s a 10% decrease in survival.

Immediate CPR can double or treble odds of survival from cardiac arrest. Most US employees aren’t ready to take care of cardiac emergencies, and that should change.”

Over 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in the US annually, with 90 percent of these victims dying as a result. Just 46% of individuals who undergo cardiac arrests outside hospital receive any kind of assistance before professional paramedics arrive.