Study Suggest Brain Activity Even After Heart Stops

A new study led by researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine has conducted a follow-up to an older study which looked into the experiences people faced after death. The new study claims to have identified that the mind does have some activity going even while medical personnel attempt to resuscitate a patient from cardiac arrest. The study took a closer look at 567-patients from the study, out of which only 53 of them survived a cardiac arrest.

The team used an app, tablet and headphones with 365 patients who were undergoing a CPR to check for brain activity hinting that there might still be awareness even though the patient is clinically dead. Out of the remainder of 53 people who survived the cardiac arrest, only 28 were in a state to be interviewed. Upon doing so, none of the 28 subjects were able to recall any images which were being played on the tablet nor heard the sounds which were being relayed via the headphones, while the CPR was in progress.

On the other hand, some of the healthy patients who were interviewed did have recollections of ongoing activities such as chest compressions, the sensation of the electrodes of (or the EEG equipment) on their skin and also hearing the voices of the people taking care of them.

The study managed to prove via EEG or electroencephalogram readings that despite the heart's downtime, the brain can show signs of electrical activity or recovery even into the ongoing CPR. The research also points out how the brainwave changes may also be a sign of universal shared elements, during which many describe as a near-death experience.

The study concluded through the interviews of the 28 subjects that there is a level of consciousness and awareness even though the body has shut off during a cardiac arrest. It also proved that cognitive functions also occur during the same.