--- title: "Woman Resurrected After Being Clinically Dead for 45 Minutes" description: "Kathy Patten suffered a heart attack and spent 45 long minutes clinically dead. But some intense CPR actually managed to bring her back to life." date: "2021-09-16" modified: "2021-09-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/woman-clinically-dead-45-minutes" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "medical treatments" --- # Woman Resurrected After Being Clinically Dead for 45 Minutes ![Kathy Patten suffered a heart attack and spent 45 long minutes clinically dead. But some intense CPR actually managed to bring her back to life.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Kathy Patten, a grandmother from Baltimore, suffered a heart attack and spent 45 long minutes clinically dead. But some intense CPR actually managed to bring her back to life, giving her a second chance that local news stations are [calling a "medical miracle."]() Patten has reportedly made an almost full recovery, something that is [exceedingly rare](). While TV dramas [give the impression]() that CPR is often successful, the reality is grim. Only around 10.6 percent of those who experience cardiac arrest are later discharged from the hospital, [according to a 2018 study](), though those numbers fluctuate depending the severity and timing of the incident. "I’m so grateful God gave me a second chance," Patten [told *CBS* affiliate *WJZ-TV*]()*. "*I’m just going to be the best person I can be. It’s very scary, coming back is a second chance of life." Patten's doctors were also humbled by the rare experience. "I don’t say you’re welcome, I say thank you," Dov Frankel, one of Patten’s doctors at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, told *WJZ-TV*. "You taught us what it means to live. You taught us what it means not to give up." But only an extreme minority are as lucky as Patten. "People think about CPR as a miracle, but it’s another medical act," Juan Ruiz-Garcia of Hospital Universitario de Torrejon in Madrid, [told *Reuters*]() back in 2018. "I’m not really sure what people would choose if they knew the real prognosis of it." There's also the very real chance of not making a full recovery without the ability of returning to a normal life. Spending time clinically dead has some catastrophic effects on the brain, [leaving permanent damage](). But every once in a while, resuscitation efforts are a success — and we should be grateful for that. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()