The Lazarus phenomenon: When the 'dead' come back to life

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The dying process: What to expect when someone is close to death

Do loved ones bid farewell from beyond the grave? - CNN

Do loved ones bid farewell from beyond the grave?

These are undoubtedly extraordinary stories that sound more suited to a horror movie, but there is a real-world name for such cases: In other words, patients who are pronounced dead after cardiac arrest experience an impromptu return of cardiac activity. The syndrome is named after Lazarus of Bethany, who - according to the New Testament of the Bible - was brought back to life by Jesus Christ 4 days after his death. Since , when the Lazarus phenomenon was first described in medical literature, there have been at least 38 reported cases. According to a report by Vedamurthy Adhiyaman and colleagues, in around 82 percent of Lazarus syndrome cases to date, ROSC occurred within 10 minutes of CPR being stopped, and around 45 percent of patients experienced good neurological recovery.

But while the low number of report cases might highlight the rarity of Lazarus syndrome, scientists believe that it is much more common than studies suggest. Vaibhav Sahni in a report. Some researchers suggest that the Lazarus phenomenon may be down to a pressure buildup in the chest caused by CPR. Once CPR is ceased, this pressure may gradually release and kick-start the heart back into action. Another theory is the delayed action of medication used as a part of resuscitation efforts, such as adrenaline.

Hyperkalemia - whereby blood levels of potassium are too high - is another proposed explanation for the Lazarus phenomenon, as it has been linked to delayed ROSC. Because so few cases of Lazarus syndrome are reported, uncovering the exact mechanisms behind the condition is tricky. But perhaps it is not what is bringing a patient back to life that we should be concerned about; maybe they were never deceased.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. In came a report of an year-old woman who had been "frozen alive" in a hospital morgue after being wrongly pronounced dead. In the same year, a New York Hospital came under fire after incorrectly declaring a woman as brain dead following a drug overdose.

The woman awoke shortly after being taken to the operating room for organ harvesting.

How we want to die

Cases such as these beg the question, how is it even possible to mistakingly declare a person as dead? There are two types of death: Clinical death is defined as the absence of a pulse, heartbeat, and breathing, while biological death is defined as the absence of brain activity. Looking at these definitions, you might assume that it would be easy to tell when a person is deceased - but in some cases, it is not so simple.

One such condition is hypothermia , whereby the body experiences a sudden, potentially fatal drop in temperature, normally caused by prolonged exposure to the cold. Hypothermia can cause heartbeat and breathing to slow, to the point where it is almost undetectable. It is believed that hypothermia led to the mistaken death of a newborn baby in Canada in The baby in question was born on a sidewalk in freezing cold temperatures.

Doctors were unable to detect a pulse, and the baby was declared dead. Two hours later, the baby started moving. Michael Klein, of the University of British Columbia in Canada, said that the baby's exposure to such cold temperatures may explain the situation. Catalepsy and locked-in syndrome are examples of other conditions in which the living could be mistaken for dead. Catalepsy is characterized by a trance-like state, slowed breathing, reduced sensitivity, and complete immobility, which can last from minutes to weeks.

What is Lazarus syndrome?

The condition may arise as a symptom of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. In locked-in syndrome, a patient is aware of their surroundings, but they experience complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, with the exception of muscles that control eye movement. Unaware of her condition, doctors declared her brain dead. Medics, family, and friends stood by her bedside and discussed whether or not to switch off her life support.

The dying process: What to expect when someone is close to death

Allatt heard everything, but she was unable to tell them that she was fully conscious. If this article has sent a shiver down your spine, fear not; Lazarus syndrome is extremely rare, as is the possibility of being wrongly declared as deceased. That said, the fact that such cases have even occurred has raised questions about death recognition and confirmation in a clinical setting. According to Adhiyaman and colleagues, some researchers have suggested that patients should be "passively monitored" for 10 minutes following death, as that is the time frame in which delayed ROSC is most likely to occur.

When it comes to organ donation, however, other researchers note that waiting as long as 10 minutes to see whether ROSC might occur could be detrimental. Current guidelines recommend 2 to 5 minutes of observation after the heart has stopped beating before declaring death; the longer the blood flow to the organs is restricted, the less likely they are to be suitable for donation.

With this in mind, it is unlikely that protocols surrounding death confirmation will change anytime soon. But healthcare professionals and researchers alike are in general agreement that in this day and age, physicians have the expertise and medical equipment to effectively determine when a patient has passed. Business Markets Tech Luxury.

Here it was that in the middle of the open casket funeral of Watson Upon finding oneself buried alive, as an patent put it, one had you should consider a few cautionary tales of the 'waking dead'. . Two years after Ms Kolkiewicz's non-death experience, Paul Mutora in hospital, after 'dying'. I realize that a lot of it almost certainly has to do with how our bodies While near-death experiences may have a universal character so what people might say about them, either right after they wake up or this tidbit (in typically efficient prose): “All the heroes are dead. Dying is a very simple thing.

Stars Screen Binge Culture Media. Business Culture Gadgets Future Startups. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Death doesn't sever the connection between loved ones, say people who've experienced so-called crisis apparitions. Story highlights Some people claim that loved ones have contacted them after death Paranormal investigators call these events "crisis apparitions" and say they take many forms Some witnesses say apparitions appear lifelike, and that the images are reassuring Woman who encountered apparition: Nina De Santo was about to close her New Jersey hair salon one winter's night when she saw him standing outside the shop's glass front door.

Do loved ones bid farewell from beyond the grave? - CNN

He was a soft-spoken customer who'd been going through a brutal patch in his life. His wife had divorced him after having an affair with his stepbrother, and he had lost custody of his boy and girl in the ensuing battle. He was emotionally shattered, but De Santo had tried to help. She'd listened to his problems, given him pep talks, taken him out for drinks.

When De Santo opened the door that Saturday night, Michael was smiling. They chatted a bit more before Michael left and De Santo went home. On Sunday she received a strange call from a salon employee. Michael's body had been found the previous morning -- at least nine hours before she talked to him at her shop. He had committed suicide. How can you tell someone that you saw this man, solid as ever, walk in and talk to you, but he's dead? Today, De Santo has a name for what happened that night: According to paranormal investigators, a crisis apparition is the spirit of a recently deceased person who visits someone they had a close emotional connection with, usually to say goodbye.

Reports of these eerie encounters are materializing in online discussion groups, books such as "Messages" -- which features stories of people making contact with loved ones lost on September 11 -- and local ghost hunting groups that have sprung up across the country amid a surge of interest in the paranormal. Although such encounters are chilling, they can also be comforting, witnesses and paranormal investigators say. These encounters suggest the bond that exists between loved ones is not erased by death.

Some people say that they are proof that there's life after death," said Steve Volk, author of "Fringe-ology," a book on paranormal experiences such as telepathy, psychics and house hauntings. Scientific research on crisis apparitions is scant, but theories abound. A person in crisis -- someone who is critically ill or dying -- telepathically transmits an image of themselves to someone they have a close relationship with, but they're usually unaware they're sending a message.

Others suggest crisis apparitions are guardian angels sent to comfort the grieving.

Is A Brain Dead Person Actually Dead?

Another theory says it's all a trick of the brain -- that people in mourning unconsciously produce apparitions to console themselves after losing a loved one. Whatever the source for these apparitions, they often leave people shaken. Nor are apparitions limited to visions. The spirit of a dead person can communicate with a loved one through something as subtle as the sudden whiff of a favorite perfume, Volk says. Many people who don't even believe in ghosts still experience a mini-version of a crisis-apparition encounter, paranormal investigators say.

Did you ever hear a story of a mother who somehow knows before anyone told her that something awful has happened to her child?

Do loved ones bid farewell from beyond the grave?

Have you ever met a set of twins who seem to be able to read each other's minds? People who are extremely close develop a virtual telepathic link that exists in, and beyond, this world, said Jeff Belanger, a journalist who collected ghost stories for his book, "Our Haunted Lives: True Life Ghost Encounters. Do you know how you're close to someone, and you just know they're sick or something is wrong?

Simma Lieberman said she's experienced that ominous feeling and has never forgotten it -- though it took place more than 40 years ago. Today, Lieberman is a workplace diversity consultant based in Albany, California. In the late s though, she was a young woman in love. Her boyfriend, Johnny, was a mellow hippie "who loved everybody," a guy so nice that friends called him a pushover, she said. She loved Johnny, and they purchased an apartment together and decided to marry. Then one night, while Lieberman was at her mother's home in the Bronx, the phone rang and she answered.

Johnny was on the line, sounding rushed and far away. There was more static, and then the line went dead.

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Lieberman was left with just a dial tone. She tried to call him back to no avail. When she awoke the next morning, an unsettled feeling came over her. She said it's hard to put into words, but she could no longer feel Johnny's presence. Nina De Santo says one of her friends stopped by her salon to thank her -- a day after his death. Johnny was shot in the head as he sat in a car that night. Lieberman thinks Johnny somehow contacted her after his death -- a crisis apparition reaching out not through a vision or a whiff of perfume, but across telephone lines.

She's sorted through the alternatives over the years.

The expected

The spirit of a dead person can communicate with a loved one through something as subtle as the sudden whiff of a favorite perfume, Volk says. Bianca Nogrady is a freelance science journalist and author of the book The End: Donna Stewart was 6 years old and growing up in Coos Bay, Oregon. On the experience of being dead, he chillingly wrote: Any data you provide will be primarily stored and processed in the United States, pursuant to the laws of the United States, which may provide lesser privacy protections than European Economic Area countries. Over genes uncovered. Stewart played with him on the morning of the surgery before saying goodbye.

Could he have called before or during his murder? Lieberman doesn't think so. This was the era before cell phones. She said the murderer wasn't likely to let him use a pay phone, and he couldn't have called after he was shot because he died instantly.