Shocking evidence that near-death experiences are real in people who have had cardiac arrest

A study led by the Grossman School of Medicine at New York University (NYU), in collaboration with 25 hospitals in the US and UK, shows that death experiences such as "dissociation from the body" or knowing that you are dead are not hallucinations or dreams.

A study recently published in the medical journal Resuscitation found that up to an hour after their hearts stopped beating, some patients who had successfully undergone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR , which includes chest compressions and rescue breathing) had clear memories of experiencing death.

While unconscious, the brain regions involved in thinking and memory were actually active and recorded a "conscious death ," which was a real memory, not a hallucination.

CPR training at a medical facility - (Photo: MEDICAL XPRESS).

Four out of 10 of them recalled some level of consciousness during CPR that was not captured by standard measures.

A smaller group of these patients — 40 percent — had normal or near-normal brain activity when their brains were monitored with electrodes during resuscitation.

Researchers found mutations in gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves indicating high neural function, with powerful and lucid experiences.

These include awareness of dissociation from the body, observing events unfolding in the recovery room without feeling pain or distress, and even evaluating the actions and their relationships, Medical Xpress reported, citing the study.

Scientists claim that this experience is completely different from what happens in the brain during CPR-induced hallucinations, delusions, dreams, or consciousness.

The authors also hypothesize that the brains of these "one-foot-in-the-water" people will "flatten," meaning that the natural braking mechanisms that help keep all memories stored from childhood clear and the brain active will be removed.

This is expected to open the door to a systematic exploration of what happens when a person dies.

Contrary to the long-held belief that permanent brain damage occurs after 10 minutes of cardiac arrest, patients' brains can show signs of electrical recovery during long periods of ongoing CPR, said senior author Sam Parnia, associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and director of resuscitation and critical care research at NYT Langone.

This is the first study to show that these signs of brain recovery include the retention of memories of the death experience.

"These findings could guide the design of new ways to restart the heart or prevent brain injury and have implications for organ transplant surgeries," Associate Professor Sam Parnia stressed.

A total of 85 unique patients participated in the study , called AWARE-II , who had their brains monitored during CPR. The team also collected additional testimonies from 126 other survivors .