A British teacher in Spain whose heart stopped beating for more than six hours was revived in a case that doctors said was "exceptional in the world".

Audrey Schoeman, 34, was brought back to life after suffering cardiac arrest induced by hypothermia on November 3 when she was caught in a Pyrenees snowstorm with her husband, Rohan.

She was rescued, flown to Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona and survived thanks to close co-ordination between rescuers and medical staff.

"It is an exceptional case in the world; the longest cardiac arrest documented in Spain," Eduard Argudo, the doctor who led the hospital's operation to save her life, said during a press conference with Mrs Schoeman yesterday. "There are almost no cases of people whose hearts have…