What is the Length of Time a Heart has to Stop Before it can No Longer be Treated?

Medical experts and rescuers know for a fact that once a person’s heart has stopped beating, it must be immediately taken care of for a higher chance of fully reviving them. Just after a few more minutes, all oxygen supply will run out from the patient’s body therefore there are no other possible ways on how to revive them. 

Once a person has a heart that suddenly stopped beating, they are already categorized as clinically dead. However, in this state, they can still be treated if acted upon immediately. 

Now the question is what is the length of time that a patient’s heart has to stop before it can no longer be treated?  

The answer varies in accordance with the patient but the estimated time would be around thirty minutes. This is because as soon as the heart stops beating, blood flow inside the body would also slowly stop therefore it cannot supply the brain anymore with any oxygenated blood. If they are not supplied by oxygenated blood, their brain cells die within 4-6 minutes and if no medical attention is still given, the patient will be nearing their biological death which means that their brain has lost all the oxygen supply. 

Although, there are still cases where a patient has survived after being left in the cold for 45 minutes after receiving cycles of chest compressions. This leads the American Heart Association to include the 95 Degrees Fahrenheit rule in their guidelines whereas it states that rescuers should continue to revive the patient until their core body temperature is above 95° Fahrenheit. 

To learn more about the different basics and fundamentals of CPR, enroll in CPR AED training today. Learning CPR today can bring a difference in the future.