Imagine, doctors in a hospital confirm that a person's heart has stopped and they are dead. The family mourns in grief. But after a while, unexpectedly, the person they thought was dead starts moving and breathing. It's like a movie, right? It's a real-life, but extremely rare medical phenomenon. Today we're talking about this amazing and intriguing phenomenon, the 'Lazarus Effect'.
Simply put, what is the Lazarus Effect?
Simply put, the 'Lazarus effect' is when, after a doctor has declared a person dead, the person's blood circulation (blood flow) suddenly resumes in their body, without any outside help, and they show signs of life. While this may seem like they have come back to life after death, that is not what actually happens.
In medicine, the correct name for this is 'autoresuscitation' . It means 'self-resuscitation'. It means the body resuscitates itself. Usually, when someone's heart stops (cardiac arrest), we perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) to save their life, right? The Lazarus effect occurs after CPR is stopped.
The important thing is that people who experience this phenomenon do not actually die and come back to life. What actually happens is that, even though medical equipment shows that their vital organs have stopped functioning, there is a slight delay in the actual resumption of blood circulation. This delay is what makes them appear to have come back to life.
The name 'Lazarus' comes from a story in the Bible, in which Jesus brings a dead man named 'Lazarus' back to life. But in medical terms, this name is a bit misleading. Because this is not a miracle or a rebirth, but an explainable (but not yet fully understood) biological event.
Other names used for this are:
- Lazarus phenomenon
- Lazarus syndrome
- Autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation
How does this happen? Let's find out the exact sequence of events.
For this to be called a Lazarus effect, events have to happen in a certain order. Let's see what those steps are. It will be much easier for you to understand this in a table.
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | A person's heart stops beating due to a heart attack or other cause (cardiac arrest) . |
| Step 2 | A doctor, nurse, or someone else will immediately begin CPR . |
| Step 3 | After performing CPR for a while, they decide that there is no point in performing CPR because there is no response, and they stop it. |
| Step 4 | For this purpose, an authorized medical officer declares the patient clinically dead . After that, no further medical treatment is provided. |
| Step 5 | After a few minutes, sometimes hours, someone will notice signs of life in the body of the deceased person. (e.g. breathing, body movement). These signs must last more than a few seconds. |
| Step 6 | A doctor will come and examine you, confirm that blood circulation has resumed, and then immediately start medical treatment again. |
It is difficult to say exactly how long it takes for this to happen after death is declared. According to reported cases, signs of life usually appear within 10 minutes of stopping CPR. However, sometimes it can take longer. Sometimes, external signs may not appear until after the blood has started circulating inside the body.
How common is this really? What could be the causes?
You might be wondering if this is a common occurrence. Not at all. From 1982 to 2018, there have only been 65 cases of this type reported in the medical literature. Of those, 18 have made a full recovery.
But researchers believe this is more common than reported. Sometimes, it can go unnoticed after the patient is confirmed dead because no one is around. It is not known who is more likely to experience this. But 68% of reported cases are in people over 60. It can happen in and out of hospitals, but only after CPR has been performed.
So, why is this happening?
Doctors still haven't found a 100% definitive cause for this, but there is a main and accepted theory.
It's called the 'hyperinflation' theory. Think of it this way.
1. When we perform CPR, we do rapid chest compressions and give artificial respiration, right? That pumps air into the lungs rapidly.
2. When air enters the lungs quickly, there is not enough time to exhale. This causes the air inside the lungs to become trapped, and the pressure inside the chest increases significantly.
3. Due to this increased pressure, blood cannot flow to the heart properly, nor can it be pumped out to the body. It is like holding a water pipe tightly.
4. As soon as CPR is stopped, this excessive pressure inside the chest suddenly disappears.
5. Then the blocked blood flow begins to flow back to the heart. This sudden rush of blood can restart the electrical activity of the heart that had stopped, and the heart can start beating again.
But the sad thing to remember is that even if blood circulation is restored in this way, many people will not survive long, because by then the brain and other organs may have already been severely damaged by the lack of oxygen.
Can something like this be prevented from happening?
Can you imagine the psychological trauma this phenomenon causes to the patient's family? It is very difficult to bear the thought of a person who was thought to be dead, having a small hope of being revived, and then having that hope suddenly disappear. Therefore, doctors try to reduce the chances of this happening and the risk of declaring someone dead too soon .
Researchers have provided some guidelines for doctors.
- Perform CPR for at least 20 minutes: Try for a sufficient amount of time, without giving up too quickly.
- Avoiding hyperinflation when performing CPR: For example, not giving more than 12 rescue breaths per minute.
- Do not stop CPR immediately after defibrillation: Sometimes, the heart can temporarily stop completely after defibrillation. This is called ``asystole'' or "flat-lining." So you need to wait a while.
- After stopping CPR, the patient is continuously monitored for 10 minutes before declaring death: During this time, blood circulation is carefully checked to see if it has resumed.
What is the lesson for you from this?
When we talk about things like the Lazarus effect, CPR, and saving lives, we can feel helpless. But there are actually ways we can take control of these things in advance. That is, making decisions about end-of-life care in advance.
Imagine, if you were seriously ill and unable to speak, who would decide what kind of treatment you wanted and what you didn't?
- Do you want to perform CPR?
- Would you like to be connected to life support machines?
These are things we need to think about in advance. It is very important to discuss your wishes with your family and your doctor . You can name a healthcare power of attorney to make medical decisions for you.
These are difficult topics to talk about, but deciding on these things in advance and informing your loved ones and doctor will provide you and those who will be making decisions a great deal of peace of mind during this difficult time.
Although the Lazarus effect is extremely rare, life-saving efforts and life-support treatments are a daily occurrence in the medical world. So, this article will be a good reminder for you to think about it further and talk about your wishes.
Take-Home Message
- The 'Lazarus effect' is a real, but rarely reported, medical phenomenon.
- This is not a resurrection from the dead, but a delayed resumption of blood circulation after CPR has been stopped.
- The main reason for this is suspected to be that the pressure in the chest increases during CPR, and when it is stopped, blood flows back to the heart.
- Even if they show signs of life again in this way, many do not live long.
- Doctors follow special guidelines to prevent prematurely declaring someone dead.
- The most important lesson we can take from this article is the importance of discussing with our family and doctor in advance what treatments are needed at the end of life.
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