A new study has provided more insight into what people experience when they are near death during resuscitation.
Research shared in resuscitation journal A study last week suggested that almost 40% of people receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation are conscious. Whether it’s memories or dream-like episodes, the study found that people experience some form of perception even when they appear to be completely unconscious.
Study author Dr. Sam Parnia said: “Doctors have long thought that the brain suffers permanent damage about 10 minutes after the heart stops delivering oxygen, but our study shows that “We found that patients may show signs of electrical recovery long after CPR is continued.” Associate Professor of Medicine at New York University said in a press release.
“This is the first large-scale study to show that these recollections and brainwave changes may be signs of universal, shared components of so-called near-death experiences.”
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The study also found that cardiac arrest survivors’ brain waves showed signs of conscious activity for up to an hour during resuscitation. For some patients, the study also measured brain oxygen and electrical activity and detected gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves.
The Awareness During Resuscitation (AWARE)-II study monitored 567 people who underwent cardiac arrest resuscitation at 25 hospitals, with a survival rate of less than 10%.
Researchers interviewed 28 of the 53 survivors about their near-death experiences, and four out of 10 survivors recalled memories or awareness of consciousness.
Other forms of perception reported by survivors included “being detached from the body, observing events without pain or suffering, and meaningfully evaluating their actions and relationships.” . The study found that these experiences of death are different from hallucinations, hallucinations, delusional dreams, and consciousness caused by cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
According to a press release, the study authors hypothesize that the natural inhibitory, or destructive, system is removed from the “flat” brain. These processes can open up “new dimensions of reality,” such as vividly recalling childhood memories from a moral perspective. The study added that although the evolutionary purpose of this process is unclear, it could provide a better understanding of what happens when a person dies.
The authors also added that the study contradicts the idea that the brain always suffers permanent damage when the heart stops.
Professor Parnia said the research “could also help design new ways to restart the heart, prevent brain damage or influence transplantation.”
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