Clinical death occurs when a patient's heartbeat and breathing have stopped. Since breathing rarely continues when the heart is stopped, clinical death is synonymous with cardiac arrest or cardiac death. The reversal of clinical death is sometimes possible through CPR, Defibrillation, Epinephrine injection, and other treatments. Resuscitation after more than 4 to 6 minutes of clinical death at normal body temperature is difficult, and can result in brain damage or later brain death even if cardiac resuscitation is successful. Longer intervals of clinical death can be survived under conditions of Hypothermia. Hypothermia also improves outcomes after resuscitation from clinical death even if body temperature is not lowered until after resuscitation. Heart rate is a term used to describe the frequency of the cardiac cycle. ... For other meanings of CPR, see CPR (disambiguation). ... Typical view of the defibrillator operator. ... Epinephrine (INN), also epinephrin (both pronounced ep-i-NEF-rin), or adrenaline (BAN) is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. ... Hypothermia is a medical condition in which the victims core body temperature has dropped to significantly below normal and normal metabolism begins to be impaired. ...

Near-Death Experiences

In 1975, physician Raymond Moody published a book, claiming that hundreds of near-death survivors had reported overwhelmingly pleasant experiences, after clinical death events. During these experiences, he noted, they seemed to leave their bodies and view resuscitation attempts from above; then they passed down a dark tunnel toward a brilliant light, met a “being of light” who helped them to evaluate and judge their own lives, and finally decided to return to life rather than go on into the peace and bliss of death. The appearance of Moody's book, opened the gate to other clinical death survivors, who claimed to be witnesses to these kind of events. Raymond Moody (born June 30, 1944) is a parapsychologist. ...

These reports had been cited by some religions, being evidence of the existence of the soul. Modern science suggests that the uniformity of the experiences instead points to a underlying biological explanation. The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Science For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ...

See also

• Death
• Brain death
• Cardiac arrest
• Afterlife
• Near Death Experience

Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism, or the state of the organism after that event. ... Brain death is defined as a complete and irreversible cessation of brain activity. ... The afterlife (or life after death) is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. ... A near-death experience (NDE) is the perception reported by a person who nearly died or who was clinically dead and revived. ...

External links

• Near-Death Experiences, a skeptic view. by M. Shermer