Anna Bågenholm

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Anna Bågenholm (* 1970 in Vänersborg ) is a Swedish doctor who was clinically dead from hypothermia for around three hours after a skiing accident in Narvik, Norway , before she could be reanimated without permanent damage. With a body temperature of only 13.7 degrees, it is the case of the most pronounced hypothermia in humans that has been scientifically documented.

Course of the accident and rescue measures

Anna Bågenholm, who was then working at the Narvik hospital, was skiing on May 21, 1999 with two work colleagues. At 6:20 p.m. there was a serious accident: Bågenholm fell headfirst into a 70 cm deep, frozen stream, she got under the ice cover, where her body was trapped between two rocks. She could breathe in a bubble between ice and water, but she couldn't break free. Her companions did not succeed in rescuing her from the 20 cm thick ice. An emergency call was made at 6:27 p.m., but it wasn't until 7:40 p.m. that a rescue team saw the ice open with a circular saw so that Bågenholm, who had been unconscious since 7:00 p.m., could be pulled out of the stream. She had been in the water for around 80 minutes.

At 19:56, Bågenholm was taken over from the accident site by a rescue helicopter under resuscitation measures and arrived at Tromsø University Hospital at 21:10 . At this point, her body temperature was only 14.4 degrees, the pupils were rigid, and neither heart activity nor brain waves could be detected. Although Bågenholm was clinically dead, extensive intensive care measures were initiated; a total of up to 100 doctors and auxiliaries were involved under the direction of Mads Gilbert . Among other things, Bågenholm's blood was diverted via a bypass , heated outside the body, enriched with oxygen and then returned again. The body temperature fell to 13.7 degrees. At 10:15 p.m., however, heart activity could be measured again. When the bypass was turned off at 12:49 a.m., the body temperature had risen to 36.4 degrees. On May 30th, Bågenholm regained consciousness. She was initially unable to move from the neck down, but recovered in the following weeks without any serious physical damage. Bågenholm has been working as a doctor again since October 1999.

Decisive for the successful resuscitation and the absence of (brain) damage despite the long circulatory failure were the rapid cooling of the brain while the circulation was still functioning and the slow reheating of the body. Competent medical first aid at the scene of the accident (the first aiders were doctors) and in the rescue helicopter, which already had an appropriately equipped team on board, which did not heat Bågenholm's body during the flight, but continued to cool it, also played an important role. The "Bågenholm case" attracted worldwide attention and was discussed in the journal The Lancet . The case is considered to be landmark in dealing with hypothermia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Colin Blackstock: Woman 'frozen' in lake brought back to life. In: The Guardian , January 28, 2000.
  2. ↑ Klaus von Brinkbäumer: A perfect accident . In: Der Spiegel . No. 8 , 2007, p. 64-68 ( online ).
  3. ↑ Ulla-Lene Österholm: Hennes temp var nere i 13.8 degrees. In: Aftonbladet , October 7, 1999.
  4. ↑ Mads Gilbert, Rolf Busund, Arne Skagseth, Paul ge Nilsen, Jan P Solb: Resuscitation from accidental hypothermia of 13 7 ° C with circulatory arrest. In: The Lancet. 355, 2000, pp. 375-376, doi : 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (00) 01021-7 .
  5. ↑ Walter deGregorio: Risen from the cold death . In: Die Zeit , March 16, 2000.

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personal data
SURNAME Bågenholm, Anna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish doctor
DATE OF BIRTH 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Vanersborg