Some patients are still conscious an HOUR after their hearts stop, according to major
People being revived after near-death experiences could still have memories and understand what’s happening around them up to an hour after their hearts stopped, a study suggests.
The first-of-its-kind study, which followed cardiac arrest survivors, found that nearly 40 percent of people undergoing CPR had memories, dreamlike experiences, or some perception of what’s happening around them.
Researchers have long been working to understand what happens after death. This study provides insight into the little-understood world of near-death experiences.
These processes may open access to ‘new dimensions of reality,’ the researchers wrote, and ‘opens the door to a systematic exploration of what happens when a person dies.’
Additionally, the findings could inspire new treatments for restarting the heart and preventing brain injuries.
Dr Sam Parnia, senior study author and critical care physician at NYU Langone in New York City, said: ‘Although doctors have long thought that the brain suffers permanent damage about 10 minutes after the heart stops supplying it with oxygen, our work found that the brain can show signs of electrical recovery long into ongoing CPR.’
‘This is the first large study to show that these recollections and brain wave changes may be signs of universal, shared elements of so-called near-death experiences.’
The first-of-its-kind study in the journal Resuscitation found that nearly 40 percent of people undergoing CPR had memories, dreamlike experiences, or some perception of what’s happening around them
The study, published Thursday in the journal Resuscitation, examined 567 patients at 25 hospitals in the US and UK who were being revived after suffering cardiac arrests between May 2017 and March 2020. However, only fewer than 10 percent survived.
Of those 53 survivors, the researchers interviewed 28 of them.
Researchers looked at brain wave activity and tested if participants could recall certain sights and sounds. During resuscitation, they placed headphones on patients and played three words- apple, pear, and banana- while using a tablet to display 10 images.
Only one of the 28 participants correctly remembered the sequence of words, and none could recall the images.
Eleven survivors reported having memories or perceptions that suggested they were at least somewhat conscious while being revived. They had at least some mental function based on measured brain oxygen and activity levels.
Some patients recalled dreamlike experiences, like being chased by police or caught in the rain.
One patient recalled: ‘I [went to a house where I shouldn’t have been]. [The police] caught me… [I was thinking how to explain what I was doing in the house]. Then, I walked into a puddle… When I got out of the puddle, I was not wet, and I sort of melded into the pavement… There was a fisherman singing a sea shanty over me, and it was raining.”
Others remembered their medical treatment, such as pain, pressure, or hearing doctors.
‘I remember when I came back, and they were putting those two electrodes to my chest, and I remember the shock,’ one participant said.
Another said: ‘I could feel someone doing something on my chest. I couldn’t feel the actual compressions, but I could feel someone rubbing quite hard. It was quite painful.”
Several participants saw certain loved ones. ‘I remember seeing my dad,’ one said.
Another recalled: ‘I thought I heard my grandma [who is passed] saying “you need to go back.”‘
And others even saw more stereotypical imagery, like bright, white lights.
‘I do remember a being of light … standing near me. It was looming over me like a great tower of strength, yet radiating only warmth and love … I caught glimpses of my life and felt pride, love, joy, and sadness, all pouring into me,’ a patient said.
‘Each image was of me, but from the standpoint of a being standing with me or looking on… I was shown the consequences of my life, thousands of people that I’d interacted with and felt what they felt about me, saw their life and how I had impacted them.’
‘Next I saw the consequences of my life and the influence of my actions.’
The researchers wrote that the findings ‘may also guide the design of new ways to restart the heart or prevent brain injuries and hold implications for transplantation.’
The team plans to conduct further studies on near-death experiences and the long-term effects of being revived after cardiac arrest.