Swimmer Fully Recovers After Approx. One Hour Without Pulse

Here is a link to an article in todays Independent, reporting that a 35 year-old South African swimmer was successfully resuscitated and has fully recovered from a near-drowning that stopped his pulse for a time estimated between 40 and 60 minutes.

Mr. Deeks cannot remember the near-drowning incident, though he suspects it occurred when a wave pushed him under the water. Even those who rescued him have no idea of how long he could have been in the water before he was noticed.

Darren Zimmerman, station commander at the nearby National Sea Rescue Institute Office, said..."We don't know how long he was in the water but he must have been without a pulse for between 40 and 60 minutes."

This is near-miraculous, as the article notes that resuscitation rates are discouragingly low and nearly always accompanied by neurological damage:

Doctors have said they were amazed by his recovery. According to Mr Zimmerman, only 5 per cent of those given cardiopulmonary resuscitation survive, and those who do make it often suffer neurological damage. "Most of those who survive end up with neurological problems, difficulties with speech or more serious problems. Some survive for a week or two and then die", he said. "What happened to Mr Deeks is remarkable. For him to recover so quickly and with no obvious medical problems is a miracle – something I've never seen before."

Not surprising, a little percentage of people can survive in a near drowning situation. Most of the time those are childs under age of 8. They don't have the same reflex than adult... When they are drowning they swallow little water cause by a spasm in trachea due to cold water reaction... After that the body seems to go to sleep under hypothermia symptoms... We have seen childs underwater for 2 hours recovers without any neurological dammaged. Adult sometimes react the same way.. He was real lucky!

I can't get the link to work but I'm very curious what the water temperature was.

Most survivors of long term drowning are in very cold water and very young as Valombre eluded to. There are many cases of children being underwater for an hour or more and revived after medical attention and slow warming of the bodies core.

Some extreme cases involved circulating the blood out of the body and heating it slightly before returning it to the patient. Many of these children have made amazing recoveries with minimal or no brain damage even after being dead for more than an hour.

It's unusual for an adult to survive unscathed after a prolonged period under water unless they are very cold at the time of drowning.

From what i learn`t and read as a first aider is that body temperature is very important in these scenario`s.
apparently if you can keep the brain under 0 degrees when it is starved of oxygen, then it cannot release the toxins that damage the brain cells.
this is why many people survive these situations.