Complete recovery from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage associated with out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest.

Out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCPA) because of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is almost always fatal, because devastating SAH causes OHCPA and the brain damage is aggravated by OHCPA. We report a rare case of a 63-year-old female patient who survived SAH-induced ventricular fibrillation OHCPA without neurologic sequelae. Early brain computed tomography scans were needed for the diagnosis, as most of SAH seemingly disappeared within 7 h after the onset and was associated with acute coronary syndrome-like findings. This case shows that even less severe SAH can cause ventricular fibrillation OHCPA and takotsubo cardiomyopathy, and that early diagnosis and appropriate treatment following immediate, successful resuscitation may lead to a surprisingly favorable outcome.