He had no heartbeat for 70 minutes. CPR saved his life

When David Mills of Vista, California, went into cardiac arrest on April 8, it took 70 minutes of CPR to restore his regular heartbeat. Now, telling his story after 11 weeks of recovery, the retired carpenter says he does not remember much about the time he spent unconscious, his heart locked in a seizure-like pattern called ventricular fibrillation that stopped the vital organ from pumping blood. The likelihood of his successful return to a full life — albeit with some lingering memory problems — was less than 1 percent. Living, after coming so close to death, is a delight, he said. "Each day...