Large U.S., UK Study Proves Near-Death Experiences For CPR Patients

A new study shows that around one in five people who survive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after cardiac arrest describe lucid experiences of death that occurred while they were seemingly unconscious and on the brink of death, the New York University Langone Medical Center-Grossman School of Medicine reported for SciTechDaily.

Photo Insert: Survivors reported having unique lucid experiences, including a perception of separation from the body and observing events without pain or distress.

Included in the study were 567 men and women whose hearts stopped beating while hospitalized and who received CPR between May 2017 and March 2020 in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Fewer than 10% recovered sufficiently to be discharged from the hospital despite immediate treatment.

“These recalled experiences and brain wave changes may be the first signs of the so-called near-death experience (NDE), and we have captured them for the first time in a large study,” said Dr. Sam Parnia, the lead study investigator.

“Our results offer evidence that while on the brink of death and in a coma, people undergo a unique inner conscious experience, including awareness without distress.”

Survivors reported having unique lucid experiences, including a perception of separation from the body and observing events without pain or distress. They also reported a meaningful evaluation of life, including of their actions, intentions, and thoughts toward others.

The researchers found these experiences of death to be different from hallucinations, dreams, delusions, illusions, or CPR-induced consciousness. Tests for hidden brain activity were also included in the research.

A key finding was the discovery of spikes of brain activity, including so-called gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves up to an hour into CPR.

Some of these brain waves normally occur when people are conscious and performing higher mental functions, including thinking, memory retrieval, and conscious perception.

Identifying measurable electrical signs of lucid and heightened brain activity, together with similar stories of recalled death experiences, suggests that the human sense of self and consciousness, much like other biological body functions, may not stop completely around the time of death, adds Parnia.

“These lucid experiences cannot be considered a trick of a disordered or dying brain, but rather a unique human experience that emerges on the brink of death,” says Parnia. As the brain is shutting down, many of its natural braking systems are released.

Known as disinhibition, this provides access to the depths of a person’s consciousness, including stored memories, thoughts from early childhood to death, and other aspects of reality. While no one knows the evolutionary purpose of this phenomenon, it clearly reveals “intriguing questions about human consciousness, even at death,” says Parnia.

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