Amma put on ECMO! What does that mean?

Update: 2016-12-05 07:41 GMT
After she suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening, Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa was put on ECMO at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. What does ECMO mean?

ECMO stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. This is a life support system particularly used for patients who suffered cardiac arrest. When a patient doesn't respond to conventional CPR, This rescue therapy will be used by the Doctors.

The ECMO Machine drains the blood from a vein, provides oxygen and removes carbon dioxide. Other features include warming and pumping of the blood to lungs and heart.

Usually, ECMO is implemented in cases where there is a possibility of reversing the cardiac arrest.
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