Survival of a neurologically intact patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage and cardiopulmonary arrest.

Abstract

Subarachnold hemorrhage (SAH) is a relatively common cause of cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA). Long-term survival with SAH and CPA is rare, and the vast majority of those who survive have moderate to severe neurologic disability. To our knowledge, there are no prior reports of patients with SAH who experience CPA and survive without neurologic deficit. We describe a patient with SAH who experienced CPA shortly after hospital admission and survived without neurologic sequelae (Cerebral Performance Category 1). Prompt defibrillation of SAH-induced ventricular fibrillation and timely neurologic intervention are essential for good neurologic outcome.