• Ann-Sofie Forslund, Karin Zingmark, Jan-Håkan Jansson, Dan Lundblad, and Siv Söderberg.
• Ann-Sofie Forslund, RN, MSc Registered Nurse, The Northern Sweden MONICA Myocardial Registry, Department of Research, Norrbotten County Council, Luleå, and Doctoral Student, Department of Health Science, Division of Nursing, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Karin Zingmark, PhD, RN Research Manager, Department of Research, Norrbotten County Council, Luleå, and Associate Professor, Department of Health Science, Division of Nursing, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Jan-Håkan Jansson, MD, PhD Professor, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Skellefteå Research Unit, Umeå University, Sweden. Dan Lundblad, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Sunderby Research Unit, Umeå University, Sweden. Siv Söderberg, RNT, PhD Professor, Department of Health Science, Division of Nursing, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden.
• J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2014 Sep 1;29(5):464-71.

BackgroundThe out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival rate has been poor and stable for a long time, but more recent studies describe its increase. However, there are few studies in which people narrate their experiences from surviving.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to elucidate meanings of people's lived experiences of surviving an OHCA with validated myocardial infarction (MI) etiology, 1 month after the event.MethodsA purposive sample of 2 women and 9 men was interviewed between February 2011 and May 2012. A phenomenological hermeneutical method was used for analysis, which involved 3 steps: naive reading and understanding, structural analysis, and comprehensive understanding.ResultsThere were 2 themes, (1) returning to life and (2) revaluing life, and five subthemes, (1a) waking up and missing the whole picture, (1b) realizing it was not time to die, (2a) wondering why and seeking explanations, (2b) feeling ambiguous in relations, and (2c) wondering whether life will be the same. All were constructed from the analysis.ConclusionsSurviving an OHCA with validated MI etiology meant waking up and realizing that one had experienced a cardiac arrest and had been resuscitated. These survivors had memory loss and a need to know what had happened during the time they were dead/unconscious. They searched for a reason why they experienced an MI and cardiac arrest and had gone from being "heart-healthy" to having a lifelong illness. They all had the experience of passing from life to death and back to life again. For the participants, these differences led to a revaluation of what is important in life.

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