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Clinical death is the disappearance of the signs of life, especially the heart rate, pulse, breathing and blood circulation. It differs from the state of biological death in that during clinical death the work of the brain (its electrical activity) does not cease, which can be determined by EEG. Clinical death is a reversible condition – vital functions can be restored by resuscitation.
- During clinical death, the heart and breathing stop, but the brain continues to work
- It appears after a state of agony, but is reversible – many patients return to the “world of the living”
- As early as five minutes after the onset of clinical death symptoms, the cerebral cortex begins to die, so doctors have very little time for CPR.
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What is clinical death?
Clinical death is different from biological death. What distinguishes the former from the latter is that the brain is still electrically active. Nevertheless, the heart beats and respiratory arrest occurs. The brain of a clinically dead patient is still functional. However, it is possible to determine this only thanks to an electroencephalographic examination, also called EEG.
Clinical death is a reversible condition – many patients in this condition return to the “world of the living”. However, for this to happen, techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation must be applied rapidly. The phenomenon for many people is evidence of the existence of a soul, as well as an afterlife.
The first stage of death is agony. Then the work of the respiratory and circulatory systems stops. The central nervous system also ceases to function. In this phase the patient is still breathing, but it can be extremely difficult to see, even for a doctor. At any stage, clinical death can turn into biological death. Although the patient’s brain is still functioning, the patient still has to fight for life.
Clinical death occurs after the state of agony. Then the circulation stops, the respiratory system works and the muscles become slack. The patient stops feeling the stimuli and his skin turns pale. However, in the cells of the body, metabolic processes are still going on and the brain is working. The second stage is tissue life (vita intermedia). This is when the body ceases to be alive, although life continues in the cells and tissues of the body. The final stage is biological death.
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What are the symptoms of clinical death?
In a clinically dead person, the body does not receive oxygen. This is especially harmful to the nervous system. As early as five minutes after the onset of clinical death symptoms, the cerebral cortex begins to die. Doctors must bring the patient back to life within these five minutes. Otherwise, irreversible changes will occur in the brain, preventing it from returning to full physical and intellectual fitness.
Clinical death and chances of survival
People who are resuscitated immediately after the onset of clinical death have the best chance of survival. Moreover, this chance increases if the person has not had serious illnesses before. After clinical death, individual organs take some time to function properly again.
The reversible state is, inter alia, pulmonary embolism. If the physician uses, for example, alteplase quickly enough, the patient’s prognosis increases significantly. Clinical death is sometimes caused by a disturbance in the heart rhythm. Then the rapid application of defibrillation can also significantly increase the patient’s chances of survival. The ground would start breathing quickly again and the blood circulation would return to normal.
Clinical death and biological death
All physiological phenomena take place between the two in the patient’s body. Immune cells are still capable of phagocytosis or protein synthesis. Many tissues still respond to chemical and electrical stimuli. There are also, among others for contraction of skeletal muscles, changes in the diameter of the pupil. Moreover, the patient may still sweat as the sweat glands also react.
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What do the survivors say about clinical death?
Clinical death is of great interest. Testimonies of survivors are very popular. Interestingly, many of them are similar to each other, despite the fact that they were voiced by people of different nationalities, views and faith. Clinical death is also of interest to physicians around the world who are still investigating the state of clinical death.
Clinical death survivors unanimously say that in those few minutes they saw the tunnel leading to the light. In addition, some of the patients reported that they were outside of their body during clinical death and that people in their vicinity could be heard. Interestingly, other patients experienced conversion because clinical death was for them a moment of… meeting God.
It is said that many patients who survive clinical death change their attitude towards death. People in this group often stop fearing death because they say that it is not the end but the beginning of a new stage in life. Interestingly, such opinions are often expressed by people from completely different “worlds”. Moreover, many of them similarly describe the experience of clinical death.
Scientists are a bit more skeptical. In their opinion, clinical death is often accompanied by hallucinations caused by inadequate oxygenation of the brain. It is also worth mentioning that clinical death is an artificially induced condition. Some patients are put into this state, for example during cardiac surgery. Clinical death is also induced during vascular surgery operations.
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