The woman who 'dies' THIRTY SIX TIMES a year: Amazing footage captures medics bringing 21-year-old back to life

• .Incredible video shows moment Sara Brautigam was dead for one minute
• .She can be seen lying on a hospital bed suffering from heart palpitations
• .But she then appears to stop breathing, creating panic among medics
• .The medical team quickly gets to work to try and bring her back to life
• .The 21-year-old has regular brushes with death due to rare heart condition
• .Condition means she has palpitations that cause her heart to stop beating
• .In one year alone Ms Brautigam was pronounced clinically dead 36 times
• .She says there is no bright light - but she can hear what people say to her

By COREY CHARLTON FOR MAILONLINE

This incredible video shows the moment a young woman with a rare heart condition becomes clinically dead for a minute before being pulled back to consciousness by medical staff.

Sara Brautigam has regular brushes with death and in one year was pronounced clinically dead 36 times.

The 21-year-old was four years ago diagnosed with Postural orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS), a condition which makes her heart stop beating.

She experiences rapid palpitations that regularly cause her heart to stop beating and her blood pressure to plummet to what doctors record as clinically dead.

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In this photo taken from the video, Sara Brautigam lies on a hospital bed with her heart beating rapidly

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But moments later medical staff rush to assist her when her heart suddenly stops beating

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But in a remarkable recovery, she comes back to life after one minute has lapsed. Here she is pictured moments after waking up from being clinically dead

The alarming video was shot three years ago with the consent of Ms Brautigam who has agreed for it to be released to highlight her condition.

She said: 'In reality this was quite a mild attack. As you can see my heart rate is very up. Then you see me go limp and the doctors and nurses all crowd round.

'They can't give me CPR because CPR tires the heart out for no reason so it is pointless. When the heart fills up with blood again is when it begins beating again.

'The blood tends to pool in my legs and the doors need to help feed it back to the heart.'

Ms Brautigam said it is about four minutes into the video, when they start giving her oxygen and applying canulas, that she clinically dies.

'I can't have oxygen because it prolongs the attack. In the video here it is before I was properly diagnosed so the doctors have panicked which is why you see them giving me oxygen.

'In fact it is just a case of leaving me there and praying. The only thing they can do is put me on a drip,' she added.

The video was shot by medics assessing her at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, South Yorkshire on June 27, 2012.

Ms Brautigam, from Doncaster, said each time her heart stops medics have to inflict pain on her to shock her into coming back to life.

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Ms Brautigam said that she has contacted other people with the same condition, but none of those people's hearts have stopped

She said: 'When it happens paramedics try and do anything to inflict pain to try and shock me into coming back to life.

'A lot of the time I'll wake up with big bruises. On one occasion they ripped an acrylic nail off but that still didn't make me flinch.'

Ms Brautigam said that she has contacted people with PoTS, but none of those people's hearts have stopped. 

She also suffers joint hypermobility syndrome which means her joints are more prone to injury and dislocation.

The two combined resulted in her visiting A&E a staggering 64 times in one year.

'When I was still canoeing I had an attack in my boat and when I came around I was screaming before I knew it because I had somehow dislocated my shoulder and damaged my back while I was passed out.'

But Ms Brautigam - who has canoed for Great Britain - says she is determined not to let the conditions hold her back and is now trying to make a life as a burlesque performer.

She said: 'There are signs before it happens - I'll feel dizzy or sick and really tired and then I feel as though I'm falling asleep.I can hear everything around me and feel as though I'm trying to shout but nothing is coming out.

'They say when you die your hearing is the last thing to go and that's been my experience. After an attack I'll wake up and my chest will be killing and I'm really tired.

'I get asked it quite a lot, but there is definitely no bright light. Everything just goes black.

'You can still hear things and there is a voice in my head that is still active and still conscious and it is trying to communicate with those around me. I can remember what people are saying when I black out but have no other awareness of what's going on.'

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Ms Brautigam lies in a hospital bed after undergoing one of her regular episodes caused by her heart condition

WHAT IS PoT SYNDROME?

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) can be a life altering and debilitating chronic health condition.

Simply standing up can be a challenge for people with PoTS as their body is unable to adjust to gravity.

PoTS is characterised by what's known as orthostatic intolerance - the development of symptoms when upright that are relieved by lying down.

Symptoms include headaches, fatigue, palpitations, sweating, nausea, fainting and dizziness.

They are associated with an increase in heart rate from the lying to upright position of greater than 30 beats per minute, or a heart rate of greater than 120 beats per minute within 10 minutes of standing.

For more information: http://www.potsuk.org/ 

She was told she could no longer take part in the sport and her dreams of joining the Navy were also left in tatters. Even getting a job and and driving were affected by the condition.

She added: 'I had 10 years of being out every weekend canoeing and being so active and it all came crashing down. I piled on the weight because I couldn't exercise and was really upset.

'All my dreams came crashing down, I can't even work at the minute because I would need a job that could be very flexible. Then I was told I couldn't drive, it was like everything was being taken away from me.

'I lost a lot of friends, in fact I only have one friend from school. Everyone seemed to be too busy with their own lives to bother with me when I was diagnosed.'