Reviewed by Sophia Coveney. Lazarus Syndrome, or autoresuscitation, is defined as a spontaneous return to circulation following the cessation of resuscitation after cardiac arrest. Simply put, it is a sudden return of cardiac activity that occurs after an individual has been pronounced dead.
The Lazarus phenomenon is a rare, possibly under-reported condition that happens when someone who seems to be dead shows signs of life again, typically several minutes after health workers stop giving them CPR. The condition gets its name from the Bible story in which Jesus resurrects Lazarus of Bethany.
Air trapping is the most common explanation for Lazarus syndrome. It's more likely to happen if you have chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). When air is pushed into your lungs too rapidly during CPR (hyperventilation), there's no time to exhale it, so it builds up. This is called air trapping.
A 65-year-old man in Malaysia regained vital signs two-and-a-half hours after doctors at Seberang Jaya Hospital, Penang, pronounced him dead.
Even though Lazarus phenomenon is rare, it is probably under reported. There is no doubt that Lazarus phenomenon is a reality but so far the scientific explanations have been inadequate. So far the only plausible explanation at least in some cases is auto-PEEP and impaired venous return.
Bone, tendon, and skin can survive as long as 8 to 12 hours. The brain, however, appears to accumulate ischemic injury faster than any other organ. Without special treatment after circulation is restarted, full recovery of the brain after more than 3 minutes of clinical death at normal body temperature is rare.
Permanent brain damage begins after only 4 minutes without oxygen, and death can occur as soon as 4 to 6 minutes later.
Muscle cells live on for several hours. Bone and skin cells can stay alive for several days. It takes around 12 hours for a human body to be cool to the touch and 24 hours to cool to the core. Rigor mortis commences after three hours and lasts until 36 hours after death.
We used to think that you had five or 10 minutes before brain cells died, from a lack of oxygen, but we now know that's wrong. You have hours, if not days, before the brain and other organs in the body are irreversibly damaged after death.
It's normal to see, hear or sense someone who has died. While this might be scary and unsettling, it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you.
One of the wildest innovations is “living funerals.” You can attend a dry run of your own funeral, complete with casket, mourners, funeral procession, etc. You can witness the lavish proceedings without having an “out-of-body” experience, just an “out-of-disposable-income” experience.
Lazarus Syndrome is incredibly rare: since it was first described in 1982 only sixty-three cases have subsequently been described in the medical literature.
Your heart no longer beats, your breath stops and your brain stops functioning. Studies suggest that brain activity may continue several minutes after a person has been declared dead. Still, brain activity isn't the same as consciousness or awareness. It doesn't mean that a person is aware that they've died.
If and when the person becomes unconscious they may not be able to respond to you, however, they will still be aware of your presence and voices around them. Studies indicate that hearing is the last of the senses to be lost.
They concluded that the dying brain responds to sound tones even during an unconscious state and that hearing is the last sense to go in the dying process. Many people who have had near-death experiences describe a sense of "awe" or "bliss" and a reluctance to come back into their bodies after being revived.
When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
The brain and nerve cells require a constant supply of oxygen and will die within a few minutes, once you stop breathing. The next to go will be the heart, followed by the liver, then the kidneys and pancreas, which can last for about an hour. Skin, tendons, heart valves and corneas will still be alive after a day.
In time, the heart stops and they stop breathing. Within a few minutes, their brain stops functioning entirely and their skin starts to cool. At this point, they have died.
If the coffin is sealed in a very wet, heavy clay ground, the body tends to last longer because the air is not getting to the deceased. If the ground is light, dry soil, decomposition is quicker. Generally speaking, a body takes 10 or 15 years to decompose to a skeleton.
A study carried out by researchers at Australia's first 'body farm' also found that corpses can move during the decay process. And it's more than just a twitch. They found that movement occurred in all limbs after death, including in the advanced decomposition stages.
Background. Death rattle is a common symptom in the dying phase which is caused by an accumulation of secretions in the upper airway [1]. This accumulation of fluid (mucus) cannot be easily coughed up or swallowed by the patient, often as a result of a diminished consciousness.
Normally there is no measurable, meaningful brain activity after the heart stops beating. Within two to 20 seconds the brain “flatlines.”
All brain activity is thought to cease by around three to four minutes from the moment the heart stops.
For most people, the first sign of SCA is fainting or a loss of consciousness, which happens when the heart stops beating. Breathing may also stop at this time. Some people may experience dizziness or lightheadedness just before they faint.